ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The European External Action Service (EEAS) on Tuesday condemned what it described as the “appalling” pace of executions in Iran, calling on authorities in Tehran to halt the use of capital punishment and release those detained for expressing dissent.
In a statement, the EU reiterated its long-standing opposition to the death penalty, saying it “has a firm and principled opposition to the use of capital punishment in all cases and in all circumstances.” It added that “the death penalty is incompatible with the inalienable right to life and the absolute prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.”
Iran has used capital punishment since the revolution of 1979 as a tool of repression. Tehran executed 2,063 prisoners last year, including some in public spaces, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
The EU called for the release of individuals detained for exercising their rights, stating it “urge[s] Iranian authorities to release all those unjustly arrested in the exercise of their freedom of expression,” and called on Iran to adopt “a consistent policy towards the abolition of the death penalty altogether.”
The statement comes amid mounting concern over a surge in executions in Iran following months of unrest and conflict in the country. In mid-April, Iranian authorities signaled plans to fast-track trials for thousands detained during a six-week war with the US and Israel that began on February 28, raising fears of a new wave of death sentences under wartime conditions.
Rights groups say many of those executed were linked to protests or accused of collaborating with foreign adversaries - charges that can carry the death penalty.