Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The European Union is stunned by the execution of Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, who were arrested and sentenced to death in connection with the ongoing protests in Iran. According to a statement issued Saturday in Brussels by Josef Borrell's spokesman for the High Coordinator for Foreign Policies of the European Union, he added, "This is another sign of the authorities' repression Violent Iranian civil demonstrations.
The statement also stated, "The European Union once again calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately end the strongly condemned practice of imposing and carrying out death sentences against demonstrators. The European Union also calls on the authorities to overturn without delay the recent death sentences already handed down in the context of the ongoing protests, and to provide legal measures." All detainees must ensure that those who are in any form of detention or imprisonment are not subjected to any form of ill-treatment.

The European Union calls on Iran to strictly abide by its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a party. Fundamental rights, including the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, must be respected in all circumstances.

The European Union reiterates its firm and principled opposition to the use of the death penalty at all times and in all circumstances. The death penalty is a cruel and inhumane punishment, it does not act as a deterrent to crime and represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity. Moreover, it is a specific punishment that makes it possible to irrevocably cancel the administration of justice.