Welcome, everybody. This is our second session of this year's Iran Accountability Week, a week that we've been holding through the human rights subcommittee since 2012. It's a week where we can bring in people who are able to speak about the human rights situation in Iran and provide a platform for those who are defending human rights.
Today we have four witnesses. We have, in person, Maryam Shafipour. She is an Iranian human rights defender who was sentenced to seven years in prison based on false charges, and she has been advocating since then for the release of political prisoners and for the rights of students. She was released in 2015 and is now working very hard to secure the release of other prisoners of conscience in Iran.
We also have, by video conference from Toronto, Raheel Raza, who is President of the Council for Muslims Facing Tomorrow and the author of the book, Their Jihad...Not My Jihad!
We also have Ladan Boroumand, who is coming to us by video conference from Washington, D.C. Ladan Boroumand is Co-Founder of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for the promotion of human rights and democracy in Iran. That centre carries an online database that memorializes nearly 25,000 victims of state violence perpetrated by the Iranian government.
I am also proud to say that alongside me, she is also a member of the steering committee of the World Movement for Democracy.
Welcome to all the witnesses. Because we are tight for time—we have less than an hour—I will ask you to keep your remarks to less than eight minutes each. We will follow with one short round of questions, in which each side can ask just one short question.
We will begin with Ms. Shafipour, who is here in person. You have eight minutes. Go ahead.