Europees Parlement bezorgd om strafprocessen in Pakistan en Iran en wil uitleg Brazilië over uitleveringskwestie (en)

At the end of its first plenary session of 2011, Parliament adopted three human rights resolutions: on the murder of the Governor of Punjab (Pakistan), on the extradition from Brazil of Italian citizen Cesare Battisti and on the case of Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh.

Pakistan: murder of Salmaan Taseer, Governor of Punjab

Parliament strongly condemns the murder on 4 January 2011 of Salmaan Taseer, Governor of the Province of Punjab, and urges the Pakistani authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into this case.

While welcoming the condemnation of the murder by significant parts of the Pakistani press MEPs are concerned that the blasphemy laws – which can carry the death sentence in Pakistan and are often used to justify censorship, criminalisation, persecution and, in certain cases, the murder of members of political, racial and religious minorities – are open to forms of misuse that affect people of all faiths in Pakistan.  Parliament repeats its previous call to the Government of Pakistan to carry out a thoroughgoing review of the blasphemy laws.

Brazil: extradition of Cesare Battisti

Parliament also debated the controversial case of Italian citizen Cesare Battisti, who has been sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment by the Italian courts for four murders committed as a member of the Italian terrorist group Proletari Armati per il Comunismo (PAC). Mr Battisti went into hiding and was arrested in Brazil in March 2007. Since then the Italian judicial authorities have sought his extradition from Brazil. This was granted by the Brazilian Supreme Court but then refused by the President of Brazil in December 2010. On 6 January the President of the Brazilian Supreme Court refused his immediate release and officially reopened the case.

The European Parliament expresses confidence that the Brazilian authorities will process the Italian government's new request for the decision to be reviewed and "explore ways of ensuring that the bilateral treaty on extradition is interpreted correctly". MEPs call on the European External Action Service to conduct a political dialogue with Brazil and to ensure that every decision taken complies fully with the EU’s basic principles.   

Iran: the case of Nasrin Sotoudeh

Regarding the case of Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, sentenced to 11 years in prison for "acting against national security", Parliament calls on the Iranian government to "immediately and unconditionally release Sotoudeh and all other prisoners of conscience".  MEPs appeal to the head of the Iranian judiciary to establish an independent commission to examine the prosecution of human rights lawyers and call for an independent investigation into allegations of extrajudicial executions since the disputed June presidential elections.

Lastly, the resolution urges the Iranian authorities to reconsider the sentence imposed on the Dutch citizen Zahra Bahrami and to grant her a fair trial and access to Dutch authorities.