Protest against the extrajudicial killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran – Stop the spiral of violence in the Middle East

The assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Wednesday in Tehran during the inauguration of the new Iranian President Peseshkian is to be regarded as an extrajudicial killing.

As Human Rights advocates, we – like the foreign policy spokesperson of the European Union – strongly oppose extrajudicial killings and support the rule of law, including in international criminal justice. Furthermore, there is a risk of more military escalations, which in turn would violate the human right to life of many innocent people.

We would like to emphasise that it is a clear violation of international law by the Islamic Republic of Iran and unacceptable for us to invite a person indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes as an official state guest in the country.

Human rights are indivisible and universal and must be respected by all parties for all people, even in times of crisis. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person (Article 3, UN Convention on Human Rights).

In the same way that we condemn the Hamas attack on Israeli civilians on 7 October 2023, we also condemn the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh and mourn the countless deaths on both sides of the brutal conflict in the Middle East.

We call on all states and organisations involved in the region and worldwide to undertake everything possible to achieve an immediate ceasefire and end the spiral of violence.

We demand the immediate release of the Israeli hostages and an imminent end to the bloodshed in Gaza and the entire region.

Vienna, 08.03.2024