More than 30 countries, including the United Kingdom, France and Canada, have issued a joint statement condemning Iran’s practice of executing people who participated in protests earlier this year against the regime.
The countries, with the addition of European Union’s top diplomat, said they “condemn in the strongest terms the ongoing executions of protesters and use of the death penalty by the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
“The use of capital punishment to silence dissent, intimidate communities, and punish individuals exercising their human rights can never be justified,” they added. “The people of Iran must be free to exercise their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear.”
The collection of nations, which also included Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain, also called on Iran to “immediately end the use of the death penalty and release all those arbitrarily detained.”
“We further call on Iran to listen to the voice of its people as they demand change, and to take meaningful steps toward ensuring respect for human rights,” the statement concluded.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi responded by saying “countries like France should stop lecturing the world about ‘human rights’ and international law. The hypocrisy is blatant and embarrassing.”
“Your backing of Israel’s genocide in Gaza—and aggression against Iran—has destroyed whatever moral high ground you imagined you had,” Araghchi said on social media.
The United Nations estimates that Iran has executed at least 56 people on national security-related charges since March 19, with at least 27 individuals having been involved in the protests at the start of the year.
