Canada and 31 other nations condemn Iran’s ‘executions of protesters and use of the death penalty’

More than 30 nations, including France, the United Kingdom and Canada, on Wednesday condemned Iran’s use of capital punishment, saying in a joint statement the Islamic republic was executing protesters to “silence dissent.”

The countries, joined by the European Union’s top diplomat, “condemn in the strongest terms the ongoing executions of protesters and use of the death penalty” by Iran.

“The use of capital punishment to silence dissent, intimidate communities, and punish individuals exercising their human rights can never be justified,” the statement said.

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“The people of Iran must be free to exercise their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear.”

After the initial 26 countries and the EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, “other countries joined this declaration,” bringing the number of signatories up to 32, the French foreign ministry told AFP.

Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Italy, Germany and numerous other European nations were among those calling for Iran “to immediately end the use of the death penalty and release all those arbitrarily detained.”

The statement joins growing alarm from the United Nations and rights groups over a surge in executions in recent months, after Iran was rocked by nationwide anti-government protests earlier in the year and the start of the Middle East war in February.

Earlier in August, UN rights chief Volker Türk said the death penalty was being used by Tehran to “instil fear.”

According to the UN, since March 19, at least 56 people have been executed on national security-related charges, including 27 people in cases linked to the protests.