EUROPEAN UNION. EU CONDEMNS HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN IRAN

the European Union condemned Iran for continued human rights abuses. In a statement issued by the British presidency, the 25-member bloc said greater respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms was essential to improve relations between the EU and Iran.
"The EU is deeply concerned that the human rights situation in Iran has not improved in any significant respect in recent years, and in many respects has worsened," it stated.
The EU observed that the death penalty was still used frequently, even for minor crimes, and with executions carried out in public, while more child offenders were put to death in 2005 than in any recent years. Freedom of expression was severely curtailed, with widespread restrictions on the press and internet. Reports of torture were still being received, it added.