Defend International had raised its concern about the death sentences on the two Kurdish journalists, Hassanpour and Butimar and lobbied the EU for their support. We are grateful that the EU has stepped forward to support them.

 

Background Information

Defend International had raised the issue of Hassanpour and Butimar, lobbied for their support and started a campaign on 19 July 2007, calling on the Iranian authorities to halt the execution. Click here to see DI Action.

In addition, DI contacted the EU, UN and CPT on July 26, 2007 and asked them to urgently take necessary actions to stop the imminent execution of the two Kurdish journalists.

We are glad to inform our members that the EU has steeped forward and issued a declaration in which they expressing concern about the death sentences of Hasanpour and Butimar.

 

EU Declaration

Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the EU on death sentences on

Adnan Hassanpour and Abdolvahed Boutimar

3 August 2007

The EU is deeply concerned about the series of collective public executions that have been taking place in several regions of Iran during the last month, as well as with the growing number of death sentences both at first level courts and at the Supreme Court.

In this regard, the EU is especially concerned about the death sentences on the two Kurdish journalists, Adnan Hassanpour and Abdolwahed Boutimar. The EU is also particularly troubled by the growing repression against all groups which exercise their right to freely express their opinions, in particular in Kurdish and Arab minority regions.

The EU urges the Islamic Republic of Iran to fully respect its Criminal Procedure Code and to grant the right to a fair trial to all individuals, namely by allowing them to have access to a lawyer from the beginning of the judicial process.

The EU calls on the Islamic Republic of Iran to halt the executions of Adnan Hassanpour and of Abdolwahed Boutimar and to ensure that the two accused be given a fair trial, in accordance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Iran has ratified, as well as the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The EU, while condemning the increasing recourse to the death penalty in the Islamic Republic of Iran, reiterates its longstanding opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances.

 

The Candidate Countries Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia align themselves with this declaration.

* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.