Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner on the stoning to death of Mr Jafar Kiani

"I am disappointed and devastated that Iran has backtracked from its declared moratorium on stoning by recently carrying out an execution by this horrendous method. The stoning of Mr Jafar Kiani goes against Iran´s repeated assurances to refrain from executions by stoning and constitutes a violation of international human rights law. I urge Iran to respect all its international human rights commitments, to effectively enforce the moratorium on stoning at all levels of the judiciary and to stop carrying out any further execution in contradiction with international law. As a matter of utmost urgency, I call on Iran to suspend the imminent execution by stoning of Ms Mokarrameh Ebrahimi. I am also deeply worried about the abduction of the Iranian trade union leader, Mr. Mansour Osanloo, by unidentified assailants in Tehran on 10 July. I call on the Iranian authorities to take urgent action in order to ensure Mr. Osanloo´s immediate, unconditional and safe release."

For more information:

The EU's Human rights & Democratisation Policy:
http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/human_rights/intro/index.htm

The EU's relations with Iran:
http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/iran/intro/index.htm

  Reproduced with the permission of the European Commission REF IP/07/1095