Human RightsIran

West’s anti-Iran human rights campaign biased: Judiciary chief

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Iran’s Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani has criticized the West’s human rights campaign against the Islamic Republic as biased, spiteful and politically-motivated.

Larijani said on Monday that not only have the Western countries turned a blind eye to the deadly Saudi aggression against Yemen and brutal killing of civilians in the impoverished country, but also defended the bloody campaign.

Saudi Arabia launched its military campaign in Yemen on March 26 in line with Riyadh’s goal of undermining the Houthi movement and bringing Yemen’s fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi back to power.

The Saudi aggression has claimed the lives of more than 7,100 people so far, while a total of nearly 14,000 people have also been injured.

While Saudi Arabia continues to support terrorist groups such as Daesh and al-Qaeda in the region, the West accuses Iran of human right violations, the Iranian judiciary chief said.

He, however, emphasized that Iran would pursue human rights principles based on Islamic values and will never “submit to human rights that the Westerners portray for us (Iran).”

The Iranian judiciary chief further pointed to Saudi Arabia’s death sentence against prominent Shia cleric Nimr Baqr al-Nimr and said Riyadh insists on the execution of an outspoken clergy while nobody voices any opposition.

Sheikh Nimr was attacked and arrested in Qatif in July 2012, and was charged with undermining the kingdom’s security, making anti-government speeches, and defending political prisoners. He has denied the accusations.

On October 25, the Saudi Supreme Court upheld a death sentence issued against the cleric last year. The execution warrant will be sent to Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to be approved and then carried out. The execution of the Shia cleric can be carried out by the Interior Ministry without any prior warning if the Saudi king signs the order.

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