Iran rejects EU stance on its human right record

Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, May 06 – Iran rejected on Saturday a statement by the European Union denouncing its human rights record and instead criticised European states of violating their own citizens human rights. Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, May 06 – Iran rejected on Saturday a statement by the European Union denouncing its human rights record and instead criticised European states of violating their own citizens human rights.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi described the EU position as “illogical and improper”.

In a statement released on Friday by the council’s Austrian Presidency, the 25-nation block expressed its “serious concern” at the “situation of human rights in Iran” and the increasing rate of executions.

“The European Union also expresses its serious concern about the general increase in executions in Iran. This trend is confirmed by the 10 executions carried out recently in the prison of Evin”, the statement said.

Asefi said that under Iran’s Islamic law authorities were entitled to carry out the executions which had been highlighted in the EU statement.

He said that statements by the EU criticising Islamic countries’ penal codes were “blatant forms of meddling in the [countries’”> internal affairs”, adding that such statements were “unacceptable”.

At the same time, Asefi said that Tehran was concerned at “numerous instances of human rights violations and violations of fundamental freedoms” in various European states, highlighting cases of “violations of the rights of religious and ethnic minorities”, “worsening of maltreatment”, “secret detention centres”, and “practicing torture”.