EU Presidency Statement on the execution of Delara Darabi by stoning
The Presidency of the European Union strongly condemns the execution of Miss Delara Darabi carried out by the Iranian authorities in the City of Rasht on May 1.
Miss Darabi was sentenced for crime she committed as juvenile at the age of 17. The Presidency strongly protests against her execution as an act running counter the international committments that Iran has voluntarily accepted. The Presidency of the European Union urgently calls on Iran to avoid any juvenile executions and to eliminate the death penalty for juveniles from its penal code. Such human rights violations erode the ground for understanding and mutual trust between Iran and the European Union.
The European Union and the Czech Presidency repeatedly diplomatically protested against the execution of Miss Darabi, lastly on April 17 and 19.
Contact:
* Zuzana Opletalová, Spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
* Tel.: +420 224 182 052, GSM: +420 724 034 154, E-mail: press@mzv.cz
Amnesty International
here
Human Rights Watch
here
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Blogger's Note: I hope to co-write a personal blog about this terrible event soon. Also, as an American, I must include a statement about all the youths who have been executed - and still are - by the US - not only within the nation but without - such as the many children and other civilians killed by wars of occupation and disappearances as well. It's hard to know whether execution by stoning or by bombs is better?
Iran's history has known many turns in the 20th Century. Therefore, Eastern nations who know the country from centuries of personal interaction rather than from the CNN are watching open-mindedly whether Iran will get over its extremism and start living up to the better parts of its tradition in order to become a balancing factor in the region. Incidents like this cold-blooded slaughter of a juvenile "accused" by the great Islamic republic is really a disappointment.
ReplyDeleteThis is not 1979. Acts like this one will not be overlooked as products of hysteria which usually accompanies revolutions. The killing of Dilara is a human tragedy which will touch hearts and evoke moral response.