There are credible reports that a minor, Hamidreza Azari, and a protester, Milad Zohrevand, were executed in Iran on November 24 and 23 respectively.

The current pace of executions in Iran, at least 600 since January, is appalling. The European Union reiterates its firm and principled opposition to the use of capital punishment at all times and in all circumstances. The death penalty is a cruel and inhumane punishment, which fails to act as a deterrent to crime and represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity. It is a definite punishment that makes possible miscarriages of justice irreversible.

Additionally, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Conventions on the Rights of the Child, to which Iran is a party, prohibits in absolute terms the imposition of the death penalty for crimes committed by persons under the age of 18.

The European Union calls on Iran once again to refrain from any future executions and to pursue a consistent policy towards the abolition of capital punishment in line with the worldwide trend.