The MEP claims that respect for life should underpin any international dialogue: “It is non-negotiable.”
Soraya Rodríguez, MEP for Ciudadanos and spokesperson for Human Rights and Foreign Affairs, has denounced the application of the death penalty in Iran, that ranks first in the world in terms of executions. She has called on the EU to step up pressure to end with this practice as it attacks the fundamental right to life.
“The right to life is not negotiable, it is not a bargaining chip at any negotiating table. Respect for life is the right on which base any international dialogue,” she said during a debate in the Strasbourg plenary.
She underlined the terrible situation of children, who are also executed when they reach the age of majority, and of women, who live under repression and are condemned if they exercise their sexual and reproductive rights.
“The death penalty must be linked to the trials, because the courts lack independence, there is clear interference by the Ministry of Intelligence, the convicted do not have the right to a lawyer of their choice and those who defend them are then persecuted, like the lawyer Nasrin Sotudé. The death penalty turns into executions and murders”, she denounced.
