by Bob Blackman MP

A Belgian federal court is expected to consider the appeal filed by three Iranian operatives who attempted to bomb a massive political rally near Paris in 2018 and announce its decision in a few weeks. The trio were convicted in February and sentenced to between 15 and 18 years in prison. The plot’s mastermind, a high-ranking diplomat who had been working out of the Iranian embassy in Vienna, was separately sentenced to 20 years and later declined to appeal after the court rejected his argument that he should be exempt from prosecution on account of diplomatic immunity.

by Sir David Amess MP

Human rights activists have recently joined with persons affected by the Iranian regime’s human rights abuses in order to issue formal requests for the arrest of Ebrahim Raisi, the president of Iran. Raisi assumed office in August following months of protests by Iranian citizens and expatriates alike over his role in severe human rights violations, including the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners, mostly members and supporters of the main opposition, the Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) in the summer of 1988.

by the Rt Hon. David Jones MP

THE appointment of a new Foreign Secretary at the recent reshuffle provides the opportunity for the United Kingdom to review its post-Brexit approach to foreign policy.

The appointment of Liz Truss as Foreign Secretary inspires hope that she will be more inclined than her predecessors to hold senior figures in the Iranian regime accountable for the crimes of the past.

by Baroness Eaton DBE DL

March 8 was International Women’s Day, and lawmakers would be well-advised to recognize the occasion as an opportunity to give women’s rights the prominence they are due in discussions regarding those nations that consistently fail to fulfill their international obligations. Unfortunately, that topic continues to be overshadowed in many cases, and the more egregiously a nation behaves in other areas, the more its female population tends to be neglected by Western governments and multinational bodies.