James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to highlight the plight of Mr Milad Armoun, who has been arrested by the Iranian regime, with very spurious due process and, regrettably, like countless people in Iran at the moment, faces a frightening prospect, potentially of execution, without any of the fundamental human rights that he, like any citizen of our planet, deserves. I have taken the opportunity to write to the Iranian ambassador, to put a face to the plight of so many people in Iran who are facing persecution, particularly those who have been incarcerated on very curious—in many cases, no doubt, spurious—charges, and who face the ultimate potential outcome, of execution, in appalling circumstances. There is strong evidence that he has been subjected to torture as part of the incarceration that he is enduring. I don't single him out because he is any different to the countless other people who are facing persecution from that regime, but I want to put an identity to someone as part of an effort that many politicians across the globe are doing to make it very clear to the Iranian regime that we are following very closely the way in which they are treating their own citizens. We will do all we can to make sure they know that what we are observing in the way in which they are treating these people is something that we will fight, and we will absolutely remember, particularly, the specific members of the regime who are perpetrating these injustices upon their own citizens.

I commend to the parliament the work of the Senate committee that has recently issued its report regarding the situation in Iran. I want to work in a bipartisan way as a parliament and I strongly encourage Minister Wong to look at those recommendations and, in particular, the opportunity to declare the Iranian republican guard a terrorist organisation, to put in place some Magnitsky sanctions against members of the Iranian regime and to downgrade the status of the Iranian diplomatic mission here in this country. I think we need to come together as parliamentarians to send a very clear and strong message, particularly in international fora, about how we regard that regime and look at the opportunity to oppose them participating in any UN related organisations and others where we have the ability to exercise a vote. We need to come together and condemn the atrocities that are occurring in Iran.