Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union concerning the execution sentence on Mr Ali Mahin Torabi

The EU is deeply concerned by the news of the imminent confirmation by H. E. Ayatollah Sharoudi, Chief of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran, of the execution sentence on Mr Ali Mahin Torabi.

The EU recalls the Islamic Republic of Iran's international commitments, namely the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, both clearly prohibiting the execution of minors or people who have been convicted of crimes committed while they were minors.

The EU reiterates its longstanding position against the death penalty in all circumstances and recalls that any miscarriage or failure of justice in the application of capital punishment represents the irreparable and irreversible loss of human life.

The EU urges the Islamic Republic of Iran to halt the sentence on Mr Torabi and to have the case reviewed by the appropriate instances taking into account all facts and witnesses, in compliance with both Islamic Republic of Iran's domestic law and international obligations, namely articles 14, n. 1 and n. 2 on the right to a fair trial of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this declaration.