David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I want to associate myself with the contributions that have been made by those senators across the political divide who are calling for action today. The wave of protests in Iran following the death of 22-year-old Jina (Mahsa) Amini, which are now two and a bit months long, continue. In the last week alone, 72 people have been killed in the brutal repression of protests. This takes the total number of people killed to at least 416, more than 50 of them children.

Thousands upon thousands more have been arrested, and now the regime is threatening to execute those protesters. The UN has described the situation as critical. All of this is part of an ongoing, brutal crackdown against protest and dissent. It's largely young people, the future of Iran, who are calling for basic human rights that we take for granted: democracy and freedom. Their rallying cry is 'women, life, freedom'. The crackdown has been particularly severe in the Kurdish areas of Iran. Martial law has been imposed in Mahabad. Convoys of armed forces are moving towards cities of Iranian Kurdistan, and some of the deadliest violence has been directed against other minorities, including the Baluchi community.

We cannot let the Iranian government use this as an opportunity for further genocide. What has been clearest throughout these recent months is the bravery of the people of Iran, and we've seen that on the streets and out the front of this parliament. Both their staunch, unwavering courage in the face of terror and brutality and the enormous solidarity of Iranians who are rallying and protesting in the diaspora are powerful, inspiring and important. We're saying today: we hear you.

I watched as the Iranian soccer team stood silent while the anthem played at the World Cup. It gave me chills. We've watched videos of women removing their scarves, cutting their hair and walking bravely towards security forces. They want us to stand up and act. The people of Iran are stepping up, and we need to stand with them. That means immediate and comprehensive Magnitsky sanctions against that awful regime, targeting the criminal leadership, not the people of Iran. It means taking action with the powers this parliament gave the government to act. It means solidarity.