The European Union strongly condemns new cases of execution by stoning in the Islamic Republic of Iran
According to official confirmation and reports from other credible sources, three people were subject to execution by stoning in the city of Mashhad in the week beginning 21 December 2008. One of the three is reported to have managed to escape the stoning pit and survived. The other two were less fortunate and were stoned to death.
The European Union requests that the central authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran investigate this issue, and ensure that the practice of execution by stoning is effectively and permanently terminated in the country, in compliance with the International Covenant of Political and Civil Rights, which the Islamic Republic of Iran has signed and ratified, as well as the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons From Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, as adopted by the UN General Assembly Resolution 3452 of December 1975, which Iran has approved.
The European Union calls on the Islamic Republic of Iran to abolish the cruel and inhuman punishment of stoning from its legal code, and to ratify the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
The European Union wishes to remind the Islamic Republic of Iran of an announcement made in August 2008 by the judiciary placing a suspension on the practice. These most recent executions not only go against the suspension, they represent a worryingly retrograde step, and we urge the Islamic Republic of Iran to ensure such statements are immediately enforced and enshrined in legislation.