IRAN: ‘ENSAMBLE CONTRE LA PEINE DE MORT’ ALERTS FIFA THAT IN IRAN PEOPLE ARE EXECUTED IN FOOTBALL STADIUMS

January 12, 2017: In a letter sent by Raphael Chenuil-Hazan, President of “Ensamble contre la peine de mort-Together Against Death Penalty” (ECPM) to Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, the French NGO draws attention on the fact that in Iran public executions are carried out in football stadiums, as was the case of Saeed T. executed on September, 22nd, in Neyriz.
An article published by the football newspapers “So Foot” quotes Raphael Chenuil-Hazan saying that “the majority of the people sentenced to death are guilty of drug trafficking or homosexuality, and often come from ethnic or religious minorities. It is a message addressed to the Kurds and Afghans, who represent the local proletariat. They even execute minors. “
 The FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura, responded that “FIFA condemned any such action, which by its nature fundamentally violates the dignity inherent to every human being” and added: “I would also like to use this occasion to bring to your attention our statutory human rights commitment. In accordance with the new Article 3 of our statutes, FIFA is committed to respect internationally recognized human rights and strives to promote the protection of these rights. This commitment also includes efforts aimed at preventing and militating adverse human rights impacts of third parties which have a direct relationship to our own operations. As part of these activities, we are increasingly locking to engage with our Member Associations to support them in putting in place adequate mechanisms to respect human rights in their activities.
FIFA is planning to engage in exchanges with the Iranian federation, and Raphael Chenuil Hazan expects FIFA to give concrete results by punishing Iran, why not by excluding it from international competitions, since its new statutes give him the right to do so.