EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 88/103

(2004/C 88 E/0107)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2588/03

by Marco Pannella (Nl) to the Commission

(8 August 2003)

Subject: Execution of Faramaz Mohammadi, the 19-year-old leader of the student movement at Tabriz University (Iran)

On 22 July Xalq Qazeti, an Azerbaijan newspaper, published a report according to which:

— some days earlier the Tabriz Revolutionary Court had sentenced a leader of the student movement, Faramaz Mohammadi, to death;

— Faramaz Mohammadi, a nineteen-year-old Azerbaijani citizen, was a student at Tabriz University and a key figure in the student movement;

— after the execution her body was taken to Ardabil;

— she was one of the organisers of the student movement at Tabriz University and had delivered radical speeches against Iran's Persian and mullah regime;

— although the court had passed the death sentence a month before, she had been executed two days earlier.

Is the Commission aware of the events described and, if so, what action has it taken or does it intend to take? Does it not consider that all relations with Iran should be suspended and any resumption thereof be made subject to respect for fundamental human rights and a moratorium on capital punishment?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(23 September 2003)

As set out in the ‘Guidelines to EU policy towards third countries on the death penalty’, the EU has consistently opposed the imposition of the death penalty and has raised this issue on numerous occasions with the Government of Iran. The EU has also underlined its serious concerns about executions in Iran at the last United Nations (UN) Commission on Human Rights in April 2003. Moreover, the Human Rights' dialogue that the EU initiated with Iran in 2002 included a concerted effort to address a wide range of human rights' concerns, including the application of the death penalty. In its first evaluation of the dialogue of 18 March 2003, the General Affairs and External Relations Council underlined that it remained deeply concerned by the continued serious violation of human rights in Iran, including death penalty sentences carried out in internationally recognised safeguards.

The EU will continue using the Human Rights dialogue with Iran to reiterate its concerns as regards the application of the death penalty in addition to a number of individual cases.

The Commission believes that a policy of constructive engagement with Iran is more likely to contribute to improving the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Iran rather than the suspension of all relations with this country. It should be recalled that in 2002, when the Union decided to enter into the negotiation of a trade and cooperation agreement with Iran, which will be accompanied by a political agreement, it was made clear that the deepening of economic and commercial relations between the EU and Iran should be matched by similar progress in all other aspects of the relations with Iran, in particular, the EU was expecting significant positive developments in four areas of concern: human rights, non-proliferation, the fight against terrorism and the Middle East Peace Process. The actual situation of human rights in Iran is certainly one of the factors that will determine future progress in EU-Iranian relations.