TEHRAN – Iran lashed out at Western nations on Tuesday, saying a spate of executions in the Islamic republic was none of their business, as it defended the hanging of an Iranian-Dutch woman.
Iran has hanged 67 people so far this year, according to an AFP tally based on Iranian media reports, and foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said 80 percent of those hanged were drug smugglers.
"If Iran does not combat drugs, Europe and the West will be hurt," Mehmanparast told reporters at his weekly press conference when asked to react to Western criticisms against Iran for the recent jump in executions.
"Our people are amazed by the humanitarian gesture that some countries adopt," he said.
"Why do they make such noise over a person executed for smuggling or someone on trial over adultery, while they do not defend thousands of Palestinians who innocently die?"
US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said on Monday that Washington was "deeply concerned that Iran continues to deny its citizens their human rights."
"We are particularly troubled by the recent execution of Dutch-Iranian national Zahra Bahrami, who was denied access to Dutch consular officials."
Given the current rate of around two executions a day since January 1, the number of hangings in Iran is set to exceed the 179 reportedly executed in 2010.
In 2009, the last year for which complete statistics are available, Iran executed 388 people, according to international human rights groups, making it second to China in the number of people it put to death.
Bahrami, 46, an Iranian-born naturalized Dutch citizen, was reportedly arrested in December 2009 after joining an anti-government protest while visiting relatives in the Islamic republic.
She was later charged with drug trafficking for which she was hanged on Saturday. Following her execution, the Netherlands froze diplomatic contacts with Iran.
"Her execution is one of dozens carried out in recent weeks amid serious questions about the motives of the Iranian government and whether these prisoners were granted their rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights," Crowley said.
"The United States urges the Iranian government to halt these executions and to guarantee the rights of its citizens in accordance with its international obligations."
Human rights group say China leads the world in executions. The death penalty is also practiced in the United States, where 46 convicts were executed in 2010, according to the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington.
Mehmanparast said Iran did not consider Bahrami as a Dutch national as the Islamic republic's constitution does not recognise dual nationality.
"Iranian-Dutch national is a forged term. Our constitution does not recognise dual nationality. It is totally unacceptable that Dutch officials interfere in an Iranian national's case," he said.
"We do not allow any country to do that. The case (of Bahrami) had strong evidence. The defendant had clearly confessed to buying, selling, importing and exporting drugs," he said, adding the Netherlands had been hasty in reacting to Bahrami's hanging as it was unaware of her drug smuggling activities.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton also condemned Bahrami's execution, saying on Monday she was "dismayed" Iranian authorities denied Bahrami access to consular officials before her execution and failed to ensure a "fair and transparent judicial process."
Concerned about a "steep increase" in executions, Ashton wants Iran to "halt all pending executions immediately and declare a moratorium on the death penalty," her spokeswoman Maja Kocijanci told reporters in Brussels.
Source: AFP, Feb. 1, 2011
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