§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what were the observations of the European Union observers at the trial of those accused of murdering the Christian leaders, Rev. Tateos Michaelian and Rev. Mehdi Dibaj in Iran. [1996]
§ Mr. HanleyA representative of the European Union presidency attended two of the four sessions of the trial. No formal observations have been issued. But despite the fact that the trial was held in public, it is not possible to say that justice was done. We are concerned that certain aspects of the procedure did not conform to generally accepted international standards. Examples are the publicity given to the apparent confessions made by the accused before the trial, and the impression that it was stage-managed.
Nevertheless, the holding of a public trial is a welcome development in itself and we shall continue to stress the importance of public trials and of due process.
79W
§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action Her Majesty's Government are taking to press the Iranian Government to allow the free sale and distribution of bibles and to put an end to the forced closures of churches. [1998]
§ Mr. HanleyFollowing the hon. Member's question on the Bible Society on 10 January 1995,Official Report, columns 60–61, we raised the matter with our European Union partners. As a result, one partner pressed the Iranian Government to clarify their position: no substantive response has been forthcoming. In March 1995 the European Union sponsored a tough resolution on human rights in Iran, adopted by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, which reflected the criticisms of the then UN special representative, Mr. Galindo Pohl. Mr. Pohl referred to the Bible Society's predicament in his final 1995 report.
§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action Her Majesty's Government are taking to press for the Government of Iran to allow an independent investigation into the murders of Bishop Haik Hovsepian Mehr, Rev. Tateos Michaelian and Rev. Mehdi Dibaj by the United Nations human rights rapporteurs. [1997]
§ Mr. HanleyWe fully support the involvement of UN special representatives in investigating the human rights situation in Iran. We and our European partners co-sponsored resolutions on human rights in Iran adopted at the General Assembly in December 2994 and by the Committee on Human Rights in March 1995. They called on Iran to co-operate with the UN special representative and to carry out a thorough and impartial investigation into the deaths of the three pastors.