Ambassador of Iran summoned to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Press release 138/2007
13 July, 2007

Ambassador Reza Nazarahari, the Iranian ambassador to Finland, was summoned today, 13 July, to the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs owing to the execution by stoning that took place in Iran. The sentence of death by stoning, handed down for adultery, was carried out in Iran on 5 July, and a second person sentenced to execution by stoning for the same reason, is threatened by the same fate.

State Secretary Teija Tiilikainen received Ambassador Nazarahari and stated that Finland strongly deplores the sentence of execution by stoning.

Tiilikainen appealed to Iran not to carry out the second execution by stoning now planned. She stated that the sentences of execution by stoning breach international human rights agreements to which Iran is committed.

The State Secretary also expressed concern over the continual restrictions on freedom of expression in Iran, and urged the Iranian government to respect and protect the human rights of its citizens.

Additional information: First Secretary Anssi Leino, Unit for the Middle East and North Africa, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, tel. +358 9 1605 6479; Juha Kirstilä, Press Attaché to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, mobile tel. +358 40 552 8200