Mr. Speaker, yesterday I attended a meeting on the state of human rights in Iran.
Under the mullah regime, 214 innocents have been publicly executed in 2002. The method of execution was stoning. The vast majority of the victims were women. Their crimes were as minor as attendance at a birthday party. These sanctioned executions take place in public where victims are buried up to their neck. Their fellow citizens are encouraged and expected to participate in their slow torturous death. The stones used are not left to chance. They are supplied by the regime. They are not big enough to inflict a single lethal blow and not small enough to be painless. The intent is to prolong the agony, preferably for hours.
Yesterday the Canadian Alliance was the only party present at the viewing of these smuggled tapes. I cannot close my eyes without seeing these atrocities replayed. I am here today to open the eyes of my fellow colleagues to these crimes against humanity. Continued silence by the Canadian government is tantamount to sanction.