FM Spokesman Raps UN’s Ambiguous Report on Iran’s Human Rights

The recent report by the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, has been prepared based on political motivations and is ambiguous, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said.

The Iranian spokesman on Saturday dismissed the recent report written by Ahmed Shaheed on the situation of human rights in Iran, calling it unsubstantiated, biased, and a repetition of the Western allegations against Tehran.

Ahmed Shaheed collates the information he uses to write reports accusing Iran of human rights violations from anti-Iranian media outlets and terrorist groups, Mehman-Parast said.

Mehman-Parast also expressed regret over the publication of Shaheed’s recent report, saying it seriously undermines the UN’s system of human rights protection and lacks legal credibility.

Ahmed Shaheed released his third report on October 11. The report was solely based on claims of 221 people that were questioned from November 2011 to July 2012. Based on those claims Shaheed has accused Iran of human rights violations.

Iranian officials have said before that Ahmed Shaheed has only parroted the unfounded allegations raised by anti-revolution elements against Iran since he had been tasked with accusing Iran.

“Since the very first day that Mr. Ahmad Shaheed was introduced as the United Nations rapporteur (on Iran) we guessed that he was a an American agent, but his later reports assured us that he has been assigned to this mission by the US,” Chairman of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi told FNA in October.

“Ahmed Shaheed contacts anti-revolution elements instead of Iranian authorities to receive information and to prepare his reports, and acts in harmony with the Americans when compiling reports (on Iran),” he added.

Ahmed Shaheed has merely interviewed with foreign-based opposition groups from Iran, Member of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mohammad Hassan Asafari said late in October.

“Did Ahmed Shaheed visit Iran’s prisons,” he questioned.

He said that the report is full of ambiguities and such reports which are based on assumption of the western governments merely meet the desire of Zionist regime and the US.

Ahmed Shaheed has no experience or record of activities in providing reports and in the past he has acted as Myanmar foreign minister, he said.