Verklaring van het Voorzitterschap van de Europese Unie over de executie van Behnood Shojaee (en)

The Presidency of the Council of the European Union expresses its deep concern over the announcement of the imminent execution of Behnood Shojaee who was sentenced to death for crimes he committed when he was a minor.

The Presidency of the Council of the European Union reminds Iran that juvenile death sentences are a gross breach of its international obligations and commitments, specifically as set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention of the Rights of the Child, both clearly prohibiting the execution of minors or people who have been convicted of a crime committed when they were minors.

The Presidency urges Iran to comply with its international commitments and to take the immediate measures required to grant a stay of execution to Mr Shojaee and all other minors facing death sentences. It calls on the Iranian authorities to consider alternative sentences that are first and foremost educational and geared towards the social rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents.