Brussels  - The European Union on Wednesday said that it was "deeply concerned" by what it saw as further breaches of human rights in Iran following the condemnation to death of members of the Kurd minority and the arrest of two prominent AIDS campaigners.

In separate statements, the French government, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, highlighted the arrest of anti-AIDS campaigners Arash and Kamiar Alaei and the condemnation to death of Kurdish minority members Farzad Kamangar, Farhad Vakili, Ali Heidarian, Hivar Botimar and Anvar Hosein Panohi.

The statements called on the Iranian authorities to release the Alaei brothers, bring in an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty, and release two other human-rights activists and three supporters of women's rights detained in Iran's Kurdistan province. (dpa)