VIENNA (Thomson Financial) - A human rights group has called on the Austrian oil and gas group OMV AG. to hold off from its planned investments in Iran until the country abolishes the death penalty for minors.
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran on Wednesday told a news conference that businesses should use their ties with Tehran to exert pressure on Iranian leaders on human rights issues, Agence France-Presse reported.
ICHRI spokesman Hadi Ghaemi urged the Austrian government, which holds a 31.5-percent stake in OMV, to 'ask itself if the execution of underaged people is consistent with its standards,' the report says.
OMV has been exploring oil fields in southwestern Iran since 2001 and last year signed a letter-of-intent with Iranian companies to develop parts of the South Pars gas field, AFP said.
According to ICHRI, 32 minors have been executed in Iran between 2000 and 2007, while another 107 Iranian minors currently are on death row. peter.klopf@thomson.com pkl/kf1 COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
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