Supported by: Miles Briggs* *S5M-19694 Kenneth Gibson: 55 Years in Prison for Not Being Veiled—That the Parliament notes the reports of the 55-year sentences given collectively to three women in Iran for not wearing veils and "inciting prostitution"; understands that, on 8 March 2018, the unveiled women were filmed handing out flowers in peaceful protest on a metro in Tehran, which quickly went viral and lead to the women's arrest; further understands that Monireh, Yasaman and Mojgan were sentenced on 31 July 2019 to a combined total of 55 years, that the women were denied access to a lawyer and that the judge was verbally abusive towards them; considers that this is one of the latest cases in this worrying trend of imprisoning women for the "offence" of not wearing a veil; acknowledges that the law concerning the compulsory wear of religious dress for women in Iran can be traced back to the Islamic Revolution in 1979; understands that, despite reassurances from the Iranian government that it was simply a suggestion, the hijab became compulsory for all women, including non-Muslims and non-citizens by 1983; is concerned that many women since then have reportedly been punished for not wearing the headscarf, including the international human rights lawyer, Nasrin Sotoudeh, who it understands was jailed in 2009 following the Iranian Presidential elections, received threats for her extensive work in the human rights sector and who served time before being released in 2012 and then re-imprisoned again earlier in 2019 with a 38- year sentence and 148 lashes; is appalled at reports that, on 23 February 2018, Iranian police gave an official statement that said that any woman found to be violating Iran's compulsory veiling code would receive a maximum sentence of 10 years, a sentence exceeded in the cases of Monireh, Yasaman, Mojgan and Nasrin, and believes that the Iranian government should release these and other women imprisoned for not wearing a veil, and repeal its legislation on such matters. *S5M-19693 Bill Bowman: V...