Iranian exiles say protestors need same international support as Ukraine

Prominent Iranians in exile have signed an open letter calling for Iranian protesters to receive the same support from the international community as Ukraine is getting for its war against Russia, according to The Guardian.

The letter, signed by 77 people, accuses the Iranian government of "antagonising their own population by imprisoning, torturing and killing".

"[T]he leaders of democratic countries have a responsibility to take action and hold Iran accountable for the numerous human rights abuses of their own population and of the dual national, mono-national and foreign national hostages," the letter says.

You can find the list of all 77 signatories in our open letter calling on the west to do more to help Iranians’ demands for freedom here: https://t.co/rIOgomlc6m #MahsaAmini #مهسا_امینی

— Elika Ashoori (@lilika49) October 18, 2022

The signatories of the letter include Elika Ashoori, the daughter of the now-freed British-Iranian political prisoner Anoosheh Ashoori, and family members of those who were killed by the Iranian government in the 1988 mass execution of political prisoners. 

The US, UK and EU have so far imposed travel bans and frozen the assets of several officials linked to the crackdown on protests. In Ukraine, Western powers have materially supported Kyiv in their war against the Russian invasion by providing weapons and billions of dollars to aid their fight. 

Protests have engulfed Iran since Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian was arrested for allegedly wearing her headscarf 'improperly' and later died in custody last month. Since then, thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets, taking off their headscarves and calling for an end to the strict Islamic regime. 

The letter says that Iranians are fighting for the right to "be able to laugh and live, to love and dance, to study and work, to have an opinion and to be allowed to express it, to have a choice and to be allowed to make a decision, to be free".