Friday, October 11th 2013

Main suspect in assassination of Iranian Kurdish Leadership in Vienna visiting Europe

STOP THE BOMB demands arrest of Sahraroudi

The coalition STOP THE BOMB demands the immediate arrest of Mohammad Jafari Sahraroudi who is the main suspect in the assassination of the Iranian Kurdish leadership in Vienna in 1989. An international arrest warrant against him is still in place.

Sahraroudi is traveling with an Iranian delegation that was taking part in a meeting of the Interparliamentary Union in Geneva/Switzerland until Wednesday and is now staying in Croatia. Stefan Schaden, spokesperson of STOP THE BOMB: "Bad enough that the Swiss authorities decided to please the Iranian regime rather than taking action. We clearly demand from the Austrian government to immediately contact the Croatian authorities and push for the enforcement of the arrest warrant against Sahraroudi. It would be a huge scandal if justice was not served while the main suspect is touring Europe."

Stephan Grigat, scientific director of STOP THE BOMB, points at the continuity of Iranian politics: "President Hassan Rouhani was a central figure of the Iranian regime already at the time of the assassination of Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou, then head of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, and his delegation in Vienna. The mere fact that Sahraroudi is now part of an Iranian parliamentary delegation to Europe shows that the character of the Iranian regime as a sponsor of state terrorism has not changed under Rouhani."