24 October 2011 :

Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, condemned the execution of the juvenile offender in Iran. "I condemn in the strongest terms the public execution of Alireza Molla-Soltani in Iran. Soltani was under 18 at the time of his alleged offence. This execution therefore stands in clear contravention to Iran's international obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child," Ashton said in a official statement. "I reiterate the EU's call on Iran to declare a moratorium on the death penalty in line with the growing global trend towards abolition of this punishment," Ashton said.