Symbolic imageEU and 32 states condemn Iran's executions of protesters
The EU and 32 countries condemned Iran's continuing executions of protesters in a joint statement on Wednesday. Tehran rejected the criticism as hypocrisy.
The statement of Wednesday, 12 August, says Iran uses the death penalty to "silence dissidents, intimidate communities and punish people exercising their fundamental rights", and demands an immediate halt to executions and the release of all arbitrarily detained. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot wrote on X that the government keeps shedding blood seven months after the mass crimes against Iranians who demanded justice and dignity. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi replied on Thursday that countries like France should stop lecturing the world on human rights, and that their support for what he called Israel's genocide in Gaza and its aggression against Iran had destroyed any moral superiority.
UN alarmed by rise in executions
The UN human rights office said last Wednesday it was alarmed at the increase in executions, counting at least 56 people put to death on national security grounds since the first hangings linked to this year's protests. High Commissioner Volker Türk warned that more than a hundred others could be executed on similar charges.
From cost-of-living protests to 3,000 dead
The protests began in late December over the cost of living and peaked on 8 and 9 January. The authorities acknowledge more than 3,000 dead and blame "terrorist acts" orchestrated by the United States and Israel; NGOs based abroad speak of thousands killed.