EU 'appalled' by new protester executions in Iran
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
A still image from video shows Mohammad-Mehdi Karami (left) and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini speaking in a Teheran court on Dec 5, 2022.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
BRUSSELS - The European Union said on Saturday it was “appalled” after Iran executed two men
British foreign minister James Cleverly described the executions as “abhorrent”.
“The EU is appalled by the execution of Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, arrested and sentenced to death in connection with the ongoing protests in Iran,” a spokesman for EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.
“This is yet another sign of the Iranian authorities’ violent repression of civilian demonstrations,” he said.
“The European Union calls once again on the Iranian authorities to immediately end the strongly condemnable practice of imposing and carrying out death sentences against protesters.”
Iran hanged the two men for allegedly killing a member of the security forces during nationwide protests that started after the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini
It brings to four the number of people executed in Iran over the nationwide protests, which have escalated since mid-September into calls for an end to Iran’s clerical regime.
Two men were put to death in December, sparking global outrage and new Western sanctions against Teheran.
Later on Saturday, France’s foreign ministry called the executions “revolting”, saying that “the execution of demonstrators cannot stand as an answer to the Iranian people’s legitimate aspirations for freedom”.
In a statement sent to AFP, the ministry said the executions “add to the many other serious and unacceptable violations of fundamental rights and freedoms committed by the Iranian authorities”.
In the Netherlands, Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said the Dutch government would summon the Iranian ambassador.
“Appalled by the horrible executions of demonstrators in Iran. I will summon the Iranian ambassador to underline our serious concerns and I call upon EU Member States to do the same,” Mr Hoekstra said in a tweet.
He said the executions underlined the need for the European Union to impose stronger sanctions on Iran than are currently being considered.
People take part in a protest in Turkey against the Islamic regime of Iran, following the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The Netherlands also summoned the Iranian ambassador in The Hague last month to protest against the December execution of two male demonstrators.
Authorities in Iran have arrested thousands of people in the wake of the demonstrations over the death in custody of Ms Amini, who had been arrested by morality police for allegedly breaching the regime’s strict dress code for women. AFP, REUTERS
