(Harrow East) (Con): My right hon. Friend will be
aware that Vahid Beheshti was carrying out his hunger strike on
the opposite side of the road from the Foreign, Commonwealth and
Development Office for more than 70 days before being taken to
hospital. The good news is that he is likely to be allowed to
leave hospital today. The bad news is that there are continued
threats to his peace camp. May we have a statement from the
Foreign Secretary about measures that the Government will take to
combat the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps and the nefarious
activities that it has launched in the UK, and about the literal
epidemic of executions taking place in Iran right now, involving
innocent people whose only crime has been to demonstrate against
the current Administration?
: I thank my hon. Friend for
raising that important point, and I am glad that Vahid Beheshti
is recovering and regaining his strength. His protest was not
just about what was happening in Iran, important though that is;
it was also about the increasing intimidation of and threats to
murder individuals who are in the UK. That should concern us.
Such threats have been made against Vahid Beheshti and others
supporting his protest, and the message we should all send from
this place, today and every day, is that our eyes are on those
people. We will ensure that they have the right to protest and
get across their point of view about what is happening in Iran.
