According to the eNewsletter Hands off Cain, No 107 of 6 June, Leandro Despouy, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, has reaffirmed the UN’s belief that the Iraqi authorities' execution of Awraz Abdel Aziz Mahmoud Sa’eed for carrying out the attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad in August 2003 – which killed, amongst others, Sérgio Vieira de Mello, UN Special Representative for Iraq – prevented the international community from learning who the real perpetrators of the crime had been.

What steps did the Commission take to voice the EU’s blanket opposition to the death penalty?

What measures is the Commission intending to take to clarify the reasons underlying the speed with which Awraz Abdel Aziz Mahmoud Sa’eed was executed, despite the express requests made by the United Nations, which legitimately wanted to discover the underlying reason for the attack on the UN and identify the organisers thereof?