Barbara Broccoli and Phoebe Waller-Bridge under 100 write UK government letter on ‘gross violations’ of human and women’s rights in Iran

More than 100 key figures in the British film and television industry have signed a letter calling on the UK government to take “immediate action” against the Iranian authorities over “gross violations of human and women’s rights” in response to the recent spate of public protests year.

Industry leaders including Barbara Broccoli, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Edgar Wright are calling on the UK government to “take active action to end violence against protesters in Iran, including an immediate halt to all executions” and “to release of all political prisoners.” “. in Iran.”

“Enough is enough. Unless the global community, of which the UK is an active and influential member, takes decisive action, these atrocities will continue,” the letter reads. “We must sincerely support the Iranian people in their struggle for justice and freedom.”

The letter was written by British-Iranian filmmaker Babak Anvari (under the shadow) and is the latest large-scale international campaign against the Iranian government’s violent crackdown on public protests following the September death of 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini.

Amini died in police custody on September 16 after being arrested for not wearing her hijab in accordance with the country’s strict religious laws. Police say she died of a heart attack, but eyewitnesses and people who were detained with the young woman said she was badly beaten.

At least 500 protesters have been killed by government forces so far, 69 of them under the age of 18, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency.

Earlier this week, the Eiffel Tower in France was lit up with messages of support for protesters in Iran. The slogan “Femme, Vie, Liberte,” a popular chant among protesters and translated to “Women, life, freedom,” was emblazoned on the monument in Paris.

Read the letter to the UK Parliament and list of signatories below:

Dear Members of Parliament,

It is now four months since protests over the death of Mahsa Amini swept across Iran. Defying the draconian laws imposed on them by the Islamic Republic regime, the Iranian people are trying to end decades of oppression.

In response, the Iranian authorities cracked down on the protests with brutal violence. More than 500 people have died, including at least 70 children (the reported number), and some 19,000 people have now been arrested and imprisoned. Many of the detained protestors are violently tortured and kangaroo courts put a lot of haste on the death sentence – several of these prisoners have been tragically executed in the past month. Just a few days ago, Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini were executed despite worldwide calls for their death sentences to be overturned – in Karami’s case, he was not even allowed to see his family for the last time.

And among the detained protesters are fellow artists and creatives such as actor Hossein Mohammadi (currently on death row) and rapper Toomaj Salehi (reportedly in poor physical condition due to repeated torture), to name a few.

Enough is enough. Unless the global community, of which the UK is an active and influential member, takes decisive action, these atrocities will continue. We must sincerely support the Iranian people in their struggle for justice and freedom. We, the undersigned, therefore ask members of the British Parliament:

. To act immediately and urge the UK government to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its gross violations of human and women’s rights.

. Actively work to end violence against protesters in Iran, including an immediate halt to all executions.

. Demand the release of all political prisoners in Iran.

The ongoing oppression of the freedom-loving people of Iran must end.

Thank you,

Babak Anvari, Gabriel Bisset-Smith, Jodie Whittaker, Christian Contreras, Michelle Dockery, Jack Rooke, Susan Wokoma, Nicola Coughlan, Dominic Buchanan, Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini, Brett Goldstein, Lucan Toh, Corin Hardy, Rachel Tunnard, Sir Jonathan Pryce, Will Hollinshead, Kat Buckle, Olivia Colman, Ed Sinclair, Tom Mison, Deborah Frances-White, Anita Asante, Vijay Mistry, Simon Rix, Juliet Stevenson, Niamh Algar, Hugh Bonneville, Dominic Cooke, Iain Glen, David Morrissey, Richard Curtis, Isobel Waller-Bridge, Gillian Anderson, Humphrey Hendrix, Livi Shean, Richard Eyre, Dominic Dromgoole, Robert Cawsey, Felicity Jones, David Farr, Lucy Tcherniak, Martin McDonagh, Jessie Buckley, George MacKay, Omid Djalili, Lucian Msamati, Joe Cole, Paapa Essiedu, Valene Kane, Varada Sethu, Alex Lawther, Yasemin Kay Allen, Noof Ousellam, Hayat Kamille, Prasanna Puwanarajah, Morven Christie, Louise Brealey, Wilf Scolding, Esh Alladi, Souad Faress, Jamie Bamber, Faye Marsay, Nazanin Boniadi, Emily Leo , P Hoebe Waller-Bridge, Serena Manteghi, Nadia Fall, Joplin Sibtain, Silvie Furneaux, Hayley Atwell, Edgar Wright, MyAnna Buring, Claire Wilson, Adam Townley, Lydia Wilson, Kosar Ali, Joseph Mawle, Percelle Ascott, Mecia Simson, Heather Agyepong, Stevie Grace Jackson, Oliver Lansley, Rupert Stonehill, Jessica Sykes, Mat Whitecross, Josh Dylan, Anya Chalotra, Andy Serkis, David Arnold, Sarah Solemani, Paul Andrew Williams, Kharmel Cochrane, Gonzalo Maza, Cyrus Massoudi, Barnaby Spurrier, Coky Giedroyc, Asif Kapadia, Rupert Lloyd, Edith Bowman, Paul Viragh, Polly Samson, David Gilmour, Barbara Broccoli, John Battsek, Michael Lesslie, Karina Fernandez