Gelmini: "The spotlight on Iran has gone out. Let’s take to the streets for the twins who have been condemned and tortured"

“If we are to remain the West that defends the individual, democracy, rights and freedom, we must necessarily stand alongside the Iranian people.” This is what Mariastella Gelmini, a senator for Noi Moderati and former Minister of Education, told Il Foglio whilst speaking about the initiative the party has organised for today at 5.00 pm outside the Iranian Embassy in Italy to call for the release of Taraneh and Romina Rahimi, the 19-year-old twins who were arrested, tortured and sentenced (one to death by hanging, the other to 25 years’ imprisonment) for protesting against the regime. “The spotlight on Iran has gone out,” says Gelmini. The aim of the event is to rekindle it.

The war in the Middle East continues. But according to the senator, the economic and social repercussions must not overshadow what is happening in Iran. “We cannot forget the hundreds of thousands of young people who have taken to the streets in recent years demanding rights and freedoms.” Today, she observes, the debate is dominated by the Strait of Hormuz: “We talk about the economic fallout and forget that there are people there in the hands of a bloodthirsty regime. Here we are talking about these two girls, but by now a systematic, brutal and violent violation of human rights has almost become the norm, or at any rate is swept under the carpet.” This is why the sit-in outside the embassy is also intended as a specific appeal to the ambassador: “We do not want to be complicit, through our silence, in this systematic violation of human rights.”

The case of the twin sisters symbolises a crackdown which, as Gelmini emphasises, goes far beyond their individual circumstances. The senator cites figures from Iran Human Rights’ annual report on the death penalty in 2025: “At least 1,639 people were executed, representing a 68 per cent increase on the previous year. We are talking about a brutal and violent method of repression, unacceptable to anyone who believes in freedom, in the dignity of the individual and in respect for human life. Unacceptable”.

In a few days’ time, on 16 September, it will be the anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death, which gave rise to the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement. Gelmini recalls: “It is a movement that transcends all political beliefs.” Within it, the senator explains, there are three pillars: “Women, and therefore women’s freedom against gender apartheid. The sanctity of life against death sentences, executions and torture. Freedom against the arrest of those who wish to freely express their thoughts’. Hence the call for a cross-party mobilisation. The initiative by Noi Moderati, organised with Maurizio Lupi, is open to other political groups and civil society. “The aim is to mobilise as many people as possible. Those who oppose this regime must also unite because, above and beyond political sensibilities, the centrality of the individual with regard to human rights takes precedence.”

For Gelmini, however, Iran cannot be viewed in isolation from the wider geopolitical context. “There is a link between Iran, Russia and China,” she says, recalling Moscow and Beijing’s support for the Iranian regime. Hence the connection: “Some people may not realise it, but there is a link between the defence of Ukraine and the defence of a free Iran, because those who are protecting the Islamist regime are also siding with Putin in the battle against Ukraine,” says Gelmini. And so: “We need a European Union that reclaims its place: enough of flirting with the bearded ones; we must be very clear about those who do not respect freedom.”

The senator believes the West must rediscover a common stance on freedom, regardless of one’s view on US military action. “We did not agree with Trump’s decision to attack Iran,” she recalls, whilst defending the line taken by Meloni and Foreign Secretary Tajani. But one thing, she insists, cannot change: “There are no reasons that can justify this behaviour.” This evening, therefore, outside the Iranian embassy, the message will be directed not only at the authorities in Tehran but also at the West: “We must give a voice to those who risk their lives, to those who stand on the front line to uphold human rights, women’s rights and Western values.”