24/01/24 (Agence Europe) – On Tuesday 23 January, the European Union strongly condemned the execution in Iran earlier that day of Mohammad Qobadlou, who had been arrested in connection with the 2022 protests. “The EU calls once again on the Iranian authorities to immediately end the practice of imposing and carrying out death sentences against protesters”, stressed the spokesman for the European External Action Service. He said the use of capital punishment in response to domestic dissent was “unacceptable”. The spokesman urged the authorities to refrain from carrying out any future executions and to respect the defendants’ right to due process. “The increase in executions recorded last year in Iran and the current pace of executions are appalling”, he added. At least 834 people are thought to have been executed in 2023. (CG)