Swiss petitions demand sanctions against Iran

Members of Free Iran Switzerland hand in signatures to the federal chancellery in Bern on Tuesday © Keystone / Anthony Anex

Some 25,000 Swiss have called on the government to impose sanctions against the Iranian government. The organisation Free Iran Switzerland submitted two petitions to the federal chancellery in Bern on Tuesday as a sign of solidarity with the Iranian people.

The organisation demanded that Switzerland follow the sanctions imposed by the European Union and North America. Members of the Iranian government should no longer be allowed to enter Switzerland and their funds should be frozen. In addition, the Revolutionary Guard and the Basij militia should be classified as terrorist organisations and all opponents should be protected from expulsion.

“When fundamental human rights are trampled on, Switzerland must take the side of the oppressed,” said parliamentarian Fabian Molina.

Ongoing protests in Iran were sparked by the death of a young Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, in September in the custody of morality police. She was arrested for allegedly flouting Iran’s strict dress code for women.

The protests have taken on a wider aspect of women’s rights and opposition to the Islamic regime. They are seen as posing one of the biggest challenges to Iran’s clerical rulers since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Swiss reaction

The foreign ministry is aware of the Iranian regime’s brutal response, the authors of the press release say – it advises against travelling to Iran – but the Swiss government is not acting accordingly, they criticise.

Neutral Switzerland has already adopted some UN and EU sanctions against Iran imposed over the country’s nuclear activities and human rights violations.

Under existing measures, Switzerland has banned the export of weapons, nuclear goods and surveillance equipment, and also frozen financial assets of some Iranians linked to the government and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps.