(File photo: AFP)
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The Iranian community in South Africa says serious human rights violations by Iran ‘s government continues, while the international community remains silent.
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The South African government’s lack of response was particularly sharply criticized.
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“We ask for moral clarity… Silence, in moments like this, is not neutral.”
Some members of the Iranian community in South Africa sharply condemned the Iranian regime and at the same time accused the South African government of “looking the other way” while serious human rights violations were being committed by the Iranian regime.
According to a media statement by Shervin Ghorbani, a member of the Iranian community in South Africa, Iranians are experiencing the crisis first hand – even from outside the country.
“We don’t watch events in Iran from a distance. We live them – through intercepted calls and internet access and the growing list of names we are afraid to say out loud,” says Ghorbani.
The community says executions, torture and repression in Iran continue.
“Executions are not a thing of the past. They are happening now. Protesters are hanged. Those in custody are tortured to extract confessions,” says Ghorbani.
The Islamic Guard is also alleged to terrorize civilians and even drag children into its structures. According to Ghorbani, internet access is being deliberately cut off “to hide what is happening, to silence victims, to make evidence disappear and to prevent the world from seeing the full extent of the repression”.
The community also says that South Africa’s response to this is insufficient.
Archive photo illustrating Iranians and the conflict. (Photo: AFP)
“Here in South Africa, the response was silence – and more than that, a deeply disturbing willingness to look the other way,” says Ghorbani.
The community is particularly concerned about an event during which South Africa invited the Iranian ambassador to speak about international law.
“This is not a neutral act. It is to give a platform and credibility to a regime that actively executes its own people and suppresses basic freedoms,” says Ghorbani.
According to Ghorbani, Iranians abroad are not exempt from pressure and intimidation.
“There is a real and growing fear that criticism here could have a price for loved ones in Iran,” the statement said.
Furthermore, South Africa’s government is criticized for the lack of public condemnation.
“There was no public condemnation by the South African government of the executions, the murders or the systemic oppression in Iran,” says Ghorbani.
The community warns that this is a dangerous trend.
“What we are seeing now is not just silence – it is the normalization of a system built on fear, violence and control.”
They urgently appeal to the South African government to take a stand and recognize the reality in Iran.
“We ask for moral clarity… Silence, in moments like this, is not neutral.”