The European Parliament adopted by 617 votes to 8, with 59 abstentions, a resolution on the death penalty in Iran.
The text adopted in plenary was tabled as a joint resolution by the EPP, S&D, Renew, Greens/EFA, ECR groups and Members.
According to the resolution, Iran has the world’s highest number of executions per capita. Between 1 January and 1 December 2021 at least 275 people were executed in Iran, including at least two child offenders and 10 women. The Iranian
authorities have also issued death sentences for protest-related charges and carried out executions against those who faced charges in connection to widespread protests.
Moreover, since Ebrahim Raisi took office as president in August 2021, there has been a significant rise in the number of executions, including of women as well as an increase in ‘honour killings’ which are permitted under certain circumstances without penalty. The resolution pointed out that the death penalty in this country is disproportionally applied to ethnic, religious and other minorities, notably the Baluch, Kurds, Arabs and Baha’is as well as LGBTIQ persons.
Parliament reiterated its strong opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances and called on the Government of Iran to introduce an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty as a step towards abolishing and to commute all death sentences.
The resolution also strongly condemned the steadily deteriorating human rights situation in Iran, especially for persons belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, based on systemic political, economic, social and cultural discrimination.
Iran is called on to:
- urgently amend Article 91 of the Islamic Penal Code of Iran to explicitly prohibit the use of the death penalty for crimes committed by persons below 18 years of age, in all circumstances and without any discretion for judges to impose the death penalty or life imprisonment without the possibility of release;
- release all political prisoners, including human rights defenders;
- immediate cease all forms of torture and ill-treatment of all detainees.
While welcoming the Council’s adoption of the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime (EU Magnitsky Act) as an important instrument for the EU to sanction violators of human rights, Parliament called for targeted measures to be taken against Iranian officials who have committed serious human rights violations, including executions and arbitrary detentions of dual and foreign nationals in Iran, and including judges who have sentenced journalists, human rights defenders, political dissidents and activists to death.