BRUSSELS (EJP)---The President of the European Parliament denounced human rights violations in Iran, mentioning especially the recent arrests of students in Tehran.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Hans-Gert Poettering said he was informed by MEPs from the European Parliament-Iran delegation, who visited Tehran last week, that a series of arrests took place in Iran, aimed in particular at students who were planning a demonstration on the occasion of the "Iranian students’ day" on December 7th.

"A list of 28 names of arrested students, whose whereabouts are still unknown, was given to our delegation by their families, with the plea that Parliament intervenes and asks for their immediate liberation," Poettering added.

He said the list was transmitted to the leader of the Iranian Majlis (parliament) delegation, who undertook to raise this issue with the Iranian authorities, as well as to the EU presidency representation in Tehran.

"I would like to stress that the European Parliament strongly supports the call for their immediate release and urges the Iranian authorities to swiftly provide adequate information to their families and lawyers about their case," the EU parliament president said.

Poettering also noted the execution on 4 December of the 21-year-old Makwan Moulloudazdeh who was sentenced to death for a crime committed when he was 13.

"This execution is contrary to both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Iran is a party, as well as to all the assurances given in recent months to EU institutions by Iranian authorities. The European Parliament condemns the execution of this sentence in the strongest possible terms," the statement said.