Tehran summons Saudi ambassador over execution of 6 Iranians
Last Updated on January 4, 2025 7:19 am
Iran has strongly protested the execution of six Iranians convicted in Saudi Arabia in a drug trafficking case. The government of Masoud Pezeshkian has summoned the Saudi ambassador to Tehran over the incident.
Press TV reported this in a report on Wednesday (January 1).
Karimi Shasati, director general of the Consular Affairs Office of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said that the Saudi ambassador had received an official note of strong protest from the Islamic Republic.
He said that the Saudi ambassador was told that the death penalty is inconsistent with the overall trend of judicial cooperation between Iran and Saudi Arabia. This needs to be clarified.
Shasati said that the accused were sentenced to death by the Saudi judiciary several years ago on drug trafficking charges. During this time, the Foreign Ministry made continuous efforts to provide them with consular services and reduce their sentences.
The Iranian embassy called the executions “completely unacceptable” and said they violated international legal standards, including the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
The Iranian official added that a legal and consular delegation from the Foreign Ministry was traveling to Riyadh to follow up on the matter.
According to a report by the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights published last year, at least 1,243 people were executed in Saudi Arabia between 2010 and 2021.
International rights groups say Saudi authorities do not provide any information about the executions and keep them secret.