Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – Pope Francis, the Pope of the Vatican, has condemned the use of the death penalty against protesters calling for “greater respect for the dignity of women” in Iran.
Francis said on Monday, addressing diplomats in the Vatican, that “the moral right to life is threatened even in those places where the death penalty continues to be imposed, as is the case these days in Iran, after the recent demonstrations calling for greater respect for the dignity of women”.
The Pope underlined that the death penalty “cannot be applied in the name of the presumed justice of the State” because it will not be “a deterrent, nor will it do justice to the victims”, and went on to affirm that the death penalty “only feeds the thirst for vengeance”.
Speaking from the Vatican, the pope called for an end to the death penalty and urged countries that still apply it to abolish it from their legislation.
So far, the Iranian authorities have executed four protesters, against the backdrop of the unrest and protests that the country has been witnessing for several months.
