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Reported execution of Afghan prompts UN envoy to take stand against death penalty

Reported execution of Afghan prompts UN envoy to take stand against death penalty

Tom Koenigs, SRSG in Afghanistan
The top United Nations envoy in Afghanistan today condemned the death penalty as reports emerged that Iranian authorities recently executed an Afghan national living in Iran.

“My position on the death penalty is clear: in all countries and for all crimes without exception I stand against it. There can be no room in any modern society for state executions,” said Tom Koenigs, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, in a statement issued in Kabul.

“The United Nations has always and continues to support the abolition of the death penalty amongst all member states.”