EU SLAMS IRAN STONING

the EU rebuked Iran for the sentencing of nine people to death by stoning. The European Union said it was deeply worried about news that Iran sentenced nine women and one man to death by stoning for separate adultery convictions in different Iranian cities. A statement issued by France, which currently holds the EU presidency, reminded Tehran it had pledged to introduce a moratorium on stoning and urged it to abide by its commitments and international standards. "The European Union calls on the Iranian government and parliament to abolish, in law and in practice, recourse to cruel and degrading punishment and, in particular the use of stoning, as a method of execution," the statement read.