On behalf of the International Committee in Search of Justice (ISJ), Prof. Alejo Vidal-Quadras (President, ISJ; Vice-President of the European Parliament, 1999–2014), Struan Stevenson Chair of the Friends of a Free Iran Intergroup in the European Parliament, 2004–2014), and Paulo Casaca (MEP, 1999–2009; Former Chair of the EP’s Delegation for Relations with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly), have addressed a letter to the leadership of the European Union, the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, and the President of the European Parliament concerning the recent indictment issued by Judge Santiago J. Pedraz Gómez, Presiding Magistrate of Central Investigating Court No. 5 in Madrid..
In their letter, the directors of ISJ, representing an organisation supported by a great number of parliamentarians and dignitaries across Europe and North America, highlight the indictment’s detailed account of the attempted assassination of Prof. Vidal-Quadras in Madrid on November 9, 2023, and the involvement of eight individuals linked directly to the Iranian regime. The indictment, they note, also catalogues numerous other acts of terrorism on European soil attributed to the regime in Tehran.
The letter quotes Judge Pedraz Gómez’s key findings:
“The attempt on the life of Mr. Vidal-Quadras Roca is related to his political activity, and specifically to his status as a prominent European figure of reference in the opposition to the Iranian regime.”
“Since the year 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran officially included him on a list of sanctioned individuals, accusing him of supporting terrorism.”
The ISJ directors further draw attention to the threats issued by the IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency, which openly warned European states of “serious consequences” for hosting the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) the main Resistance movement to the theocratic regime, and explicitly cited the assassination attempt as a warning to Spain.
The letter calls on the EU and its Member States to respond with urgency, stating:
“At a minimum, we expect a public statement unequivocally condemning the Iranian regime’s sponsorship of terrorism on European soil. Additionally, we urge the immediate summoning of Iranian ambassadors across EU Member States to confront them with this evidence and to issue a collective and forceful condemnation of this outrage.”
The directors remind European officials that the Iranian regime’s Foreign Ministry published in October 2022 a list of Western figures—accused of terrorism solely for their support of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)/MEK and opposition to the regime—with Prof. Vidal-Quadras at the top of the list. They urge that immediate action be taken to provide protection to all EU citizens named.
The ISJ letter concludes with the following demands:
• The closure of all Iranian embassies in Europe and the expulsion of their diplomatic staff, given that the indictment “clearly supports the conclusion that the Iranian regime uses its embassies as centres for planning acts of terrorism.”
• The closure of EU embassies in Iran and diplomatic isolation of the regime.
• The designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation, in accordance with the near-unanimous European Parliament vote of 19 January 2023.
• Support for the Iranian people and their organised Resistance—the NCRI/MEK—in their pursuit of democratic change.
The letter stresses:
“We reiterate our conviction that the only path to lasting change in Iran lies not through foreign military intervention or appeasement of the regime, but through the determination and agency of the Iranian people and their organised Resistance. This matter is one of exceptional urgency and gravity.”
The ISJ directors call on European institutions to heed the appeals of those who have dedicated their lives—at great personal risk—to the cause of freedom and democracy for the people of Iran.
