171. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if she is aware that a 23-year-old woman (details supplied) has been sentenced to death in Iran; and if she will engage with her European counterparts to condemn this death sentence. [75098/26]

I am deeply concerned by the passing of a death sentence on a young woman in Iran on a charge of blasphemy.

This is part of a worrying trend in Iran, where there has been a drastic year-on-year increase in the number of executions since the 2022 ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ protests. It regrettably does appear that the conditions of the current war have emboldened the authorities to carry out further executions of political prisoners, protestors and human rights activists.

Ireland's position on the death penalty is consistent and clear: we are opposed to it in all cases and in all circumstances.

Ireland raises our concerns about Iran’s human rights abuses both bilaterally and in multilateral fora; such as the United Nations Human Rights Council and the UN Third Committee on Human Rights. At the 2025 Universal Periodic Review of Iran at the UN Human Rights Council, Ireland raised the death penalty and highlighted Iran’s use of the death penalty against human rights defenders, especially women. We called for the end of all executions in Iran. Ireland was also instrumental in the establishment by the Human Rights Council of an ongoing special procedure to investigate human rights abuses in Iran following the protests in 2022, and the violent suppression of protests earlier this year by the Iranian authorities.

Along with our EU partners, we make these points directly to the Iranian authorities at every opportunity, both in Dublin and in Tehran. Department officials met with the Iranian Ambassador to Ireland most recently on 10 September, and outlined Ireland’s strong opposition to the death penalty, to its use against protestors, and our broader concerns regarding the human rights situation in Iran.