Hague condemns Iranian death penalty

The UK Foreign Secretary William Hague,  condemned Iran’s use of the death penalty as a “disgrace” and a “shameful indictment of Iran’s leaders" on Friday. The UK Foreign office released a press release detailing cases it views as a contravention of human rights. These cases include the death sentence being carried out and ordered on members of the Ahwazi Arab minority for 'enmity against God', the hanging of Safieh Ghafouri for murder though Amnesty International views the conviction as unsafe and she was raped repetitively in prison, Christian Pastor Nadarkhani was sentenced to death for apostasy and the denial of healthcare to ill prisoners. Foreign Secretary William Hague said: “The Iranian Government should know that its systematic attempt to curtail the freedom of its citizens will not go unchallenged by the international community and only adds to its isolation. I call on Iran immediately to commute these death sentences, to stop torturing its citizens and to end the systematic persecution of its ethnic minorities." Despite UK criticism of Iran and support for Amnesty International's condemnations of human rights abuses in this instance, the UK foreign office did not comment on the further executions of the mentally ill in the US earlier this year which were also condemned as "illegal" by Amnesty International. The foreign office's comments come amidst growing pressure on Iran for various issues including its links to North Korea, influence in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq and its nuclear development programme.