Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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194. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide details of his engagement with the Ambassador for the Islamic Republic of Iran concerning recent protests for women's rights and the treatment of protestors by state security services. [54101/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody in Iran on 16 September, was a tragedy. The fact that she was arrested simply due to the way she was dressed understandably provoked a strong response from the Iranian people and the international community. The subsequent response by the Iranian authorities to largely peaceful protestors in Iran has been extremely concerning.

I raised my concerns on the matter directly with the Iranian Foreign Minister when I met him at the UN General Assembly in New York on 21 September and I spoke with him on the matter again by phone on 6 October. I called on Iran to conduct an independent investigation into the circumstances of Ms Amini’s detention and death.

On 20 October I summoned the Iranian Ambassador to Ireland and again reiterated my very serious concern about the circumstances surrounding the death of Mahsa Amini and the unjustified response of the Iranian security forces to the women and men who are protesting. I made it clear that Iran must adhere to its obligations under the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. I also raised my concerns for the safety and well being of the athlete Elnaz Rekabi.

In my meeting with the Ambassador, I also urged Iran to stop supplying weapons to Russia. Russia’s deliberate and repeated targeting of Ukrainian civilians and critical infrastructure is a gross violation of international law. Iran’s supply of weapons to Russia directly contributes to these violations.

On 19 October the UN Security Council held a meeting on Iran’s Transfer of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to Russia and, the following day, the EU adopted targeted sanctions against Iranian individuals and an entity involved in the development of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles drones and their delivery to Russia. This followed the decision by the EU on 17 October, under the Iran (Human Rights) Sanctions Regime, to sanction eleven people and four entities for their role in the death of Mahsa Amini and the violent response to the recent demonstrations in Iran.