EU CONDEMNS EXECUTION OF 29 PEOPLE IN EVIN PRISON IN IRAN

the European Union condemned ‘in the strongest terms the 29 simultaneous executions which took place in Evin prison, Iran, on Sunday 27 July 2008. ’It considers that the Iranian regime’s action of staging these executions and making them the focus of media attention is an affront to human dignity. The European Union remains convinced that capital punishment cannot form the basis of a fair and effective prosecution policy: the dissuasive effect of this penalty has never been proved and any judicial error is irreversible. The European Union is deeply concerned by the increasing recourse to the death penalty in Iran in recent months. It urges the Iranian authorities to put an end to death sentences and executions, to establish a moratorium with a view to abolishing the death penalty in accordance with the resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly and to respect international human rights standards for all Iranians.