MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

2.9.2008

with request for inclusion in the agenda for the debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 115 of the Rules of Procedure
by Charles Tannock, Laima Liucija Andrikienė, Urszula Gacek, Bernd Posselt, Eija-Riitta Korhola, Tunne Kelam
on behalf of the PPE-DE Group
on Hangings in placecountry-regionIran

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B6-0389/2008

B6‑0394/2008

European Parliament resolution on placeHangings in country-regionIran

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to its previous resolutions on country-regionplaceIran and in particular those concerning human rights,

-  having regard to the Declaration of 18 July 2008 by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union concerning application of the death penalty in Iran,

-  having regard to the resolutions of the General Assembly of the United Nations, and, in particular, resolution 62/168 of 18 December 2007 on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran and resolution 62/149 of 18 December 2007 on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty,

-  having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which country-regionplaceIran is a party,

-  having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas twenty-nine simultaneous executions took place in Evin prison in CityplaceTehran on 27 July 2008,

B.  whereas juvenile offenders Hassan Mozafari and Rahman Shahidi were executed on 22 July 2008, Reza Hejazi was executed on 19 August 2008 and Behnam Zare was executed on 26 August 2008,

C.  whereas juvenile offenders Amir Marollahi, Behnood Shojaee, Mohammed Fadaei and Bahman Soleimanian, face the imminent risk of execution,

D.  whereas a parliamentary bill has been introduced to extend the range of offences carrying the death penalty,

E.  whereas the Iranian authorities have doubled the number of executions from 2006 to 2007, without achieving anything but a worsening crime rate,

F.  whereas Iran is known to have executed more juvenile offenders than any other country in the world and many other juvenile offenders await execution in Iran, whereas the juvenile death penalty is in direct contravention of Iran's international obligations and commitments,

1.  Strongly condemns the death sentences and executions in Iran, in particular those imposed or carried out on juvenile offenders and minors, and urges the Iranian authorities to respect the internationally recognised legal safeguards with regard to minors, such as the International Convention on the Rights of the Child;

2.  Strongly condemns the executions of twenty-nine people on 27 July 2008, as well as the executions of juvenile offenders Hassan Mozafari, Rahman Shahidi, Behnam Zare and Reza Hejazi;

3.  Pleads with the Iranian authorities to halt the execution of Amir Marollahi, Behnood Shojaee, Mohammed Fadaei and Bahman Soleimanian and all other offenders sentenced to death;

4.  Urges the Iranian Parliament to withdraw its bill and support a thorough overhaul of judicial practice, providing for alternative forms of sentencing other than the death penalty;

5.  Urges the Iranian authorities to respect international human rights standards and establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty;

6.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the UN Secretary-General, the UN Human Rights Council, the Government and Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran.