Netherlands has withdrawn its ambassador from Iran for consultations
on the execution of Zahra Bahrami, a citizen of both Iran and
Netherlands accused of drug-trafficking and smuggling by Tehran,
Reuters cites a diplomatic official of Netherlands as saying.
The ambassador of Netherlands will file an official protest note to
the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, before visiting Hague on
Tuesday.
The Iranian ambassador will soon be invited to the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of Netherlands.
Bahrami was arrested in December 2009, during clashes between the
opposition and police in Tehran. Over 15 people died and some 300 were
arrested. Netherlands found out about Bahrami's arrest after half a
year.
Zahra Bahrami was sentenced to death on January 2, 2011, for
drug-trafficking and smuggling. The court was to start hearings on
accusations of anti-government protests in 2 months.
Tehran refuses to recognize dual citizenship. The opposition says
Bahrami was tortured.
Netherlands froze all diplomatic activities with Iran soon after the
execution. The Iranian embassy in Netherlands said that Bahrami's
execution is an internal affair of the Islamic Republic. Bahrami was
called "a member of an international network of drug-dealers,
travelling using passports of Netherlands, Iran and Spain".
