The European Union and 32 countries jointly issued a statement on Wednesday (August 12), using the strongest language to condemn Iran’s continued execution of protesters and urging Iran to immediately cease this behavior.
“Using the death penalty to suppress dissent, intimidate communities, and punish individuals exercising their human rights has no legitimacy,” the joint statement said. “The people of Iran must be able to exercise their rights to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly without fear.”
“We urge Iran to immediately stop the use of the death penalty and release all arbitrarily detained individuals,” the statement said.
The EU and the 32 countries also added, “We further urge Iran to listen to the people’s demands for change and take meaningful steps to ensure respect for human rights.”
These 32 countries include 29 European countries. These countries are Albania, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
Iran is currently continuing to execute individuals convicted for their involvement in the mass protests from late December to January of the previous year. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, stated last week that since March 19, at least 56 individuals have been executed on charges related to national security, with 27 of them linked to the massive anti-government protests earlier this year.
The Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, an Iranian human rights organization, reported that since the beginning of 2026, Iran has executed 916 individuals, with 15 executions taking place in August alone.
As early as April of this year, the European External Action Service, responsible for implementing the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy, described Iran’s execution rate as “alarming” and urged Iranian authorities to release those arrested for participating in protest activities.
Iran has faced sanctions from the EU due to its dismal human rights record. The President of the European Commission, Von der Leyen, stated in mid-June that Iran must fundamentally change its behavior for the EU to consider lifting sanctions.