Activists Urge Luxembourg Government to Declare IRGC Terrorist Group

The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran, a sub-committee of Luxembourg non-profit SIMOURQ asbl, has called on the Luxembourg Government to support a European Parliament resolution to expand sanctions on Iran and designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist group.

Following previous protests in Luxembourg against the Iranian regime, the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran and fellow activists have been camped outside the Chamber of Deputies in Luxembourg-Ville since Monday 6 February 2023. On the afternoon of Thursday 9 February 2023, they also staged a demonstration in Place de Clairefontaine in the city centre. These actions are aimed at urging the Luxembourg Government to support the European Parliament's resolution of 19 January 2023 on the European Union (EU) response to the protests and executions in Iran.

According to the Committee, the Luxembourg Government has yet to officially support this resolution, unlike Germany, France and the Netherlands, among others.

Having spoken to some of the activists, Chronicle.lu understood that the group had been asked to leave by police officers in the early hours of Friday 10 February 2023 despite having the necessary protest permit. Chronicle.lu has reached out to the Grand Ducal Police for comment.* Despite the interruption, many activists are once again camped outside the Chamber of Deputies this weekend.

One such activist, Amir Labbaf (pictured in the middle below), has now gone on a hunger (and medical treatment) strike to further urge the Luxembourg Government to make its position on the IRGC clear. Having fled his native Iran for his safety a few years ago, Mr Labbaf sought asylum in several European countries, including Croatia, before arriving in Luxembourg, via Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Some Luxembourg activists are travelling to Paris on Saturday 11 February 2023 to participate in a large demonstration in the French capital. This date marks the 44th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and thousands of people in Iran and around the world are taking to the streets on this occasion.

Activists will also gather in Brussels on Monday 20 February 2023 to urge the Council of the EU to list the IRGC as a terrorist organisation.

*Update: The Grand Ducal Police have since clarified that police officers had asked a group of people outside the Chamber of Deputies, who were themselves authorised to be present on Friday, to remove their tent and heating device which were "not explicitly authorised".