The European Council expresses its condolences to Chaab’s family, and announces that it stands in full solidarity with Sweden.
The death penalty is a violation of the “inalienable right to life enshrined in the Declaration of Human Rights and is the most cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment,” the council writes on its website.
The EU calls on Iran to refrain from executions in the future, and to work consistently to abolish the death penalty.
“The increasing number of EU citizens and EU-Iranian nationals being arbitrarily detained in Iran, the restrictions imposed on consular access to EU citizens, the denial of consular protection and the right to a fair trial, are in direct contradiction to international law,” writes the council.
Chaab was executed by hanging on Saturday, according to the court’s news channel. He was sentenced to death in December, accused of planning and carrying out bombings against the Iranian regime. He had lived in exile in Sweden for several years.
Sweden also condemns the execution.