The United Nations Special Rapporteur charged with examining human rights conditions in Iran has told VOA that he has found "no positive change of significance" since he took at the mandate in June 2011.
Ahmed Shaheed said within the interview Friday, he remains interested by the "continuing deterioration" of human rights in Iran. He named the increasing choice of executions, and the targeting of human rights defenders and journalists as his top three areas of focus.
Shaheed said in his report back to the U.N. that there has been an "alarming increase†in executions happening in Iran, from fewer than 100 in 2003, to 670 in 2011, many occurring after very little due process.
He said numerous human rights lawyers had been jailed, that there are no less than 45 journalists currently imprisoned in Iran, and that many others have fled the rustic.
Although the Iranian government has refused to work with the Special Rapporteur or allow him to go to the rustic, Shaheed said he has interviewed 163 witnesses, "people who claim they've got had their very own rights violated or their family members' rights violated." He also has met with members of the diplomatic corps, NGOs [non-governmental organizations] and the Iranian diaspora.
He said of the witnesses, 25 percent live in Iran and included some who're on death row. He didn't detail how he was in a position to speak to people inside Iran, except to assert by "electronic technique of communication." He said this manner, he was ready to speak to a couple who might otherwise have feared chatting with him during an official visit.
Shaheed, whose mandate was extended for one more year by the U.N., remains hopeful that the Tehran government will allow him access into the rustic. He said Iran has "not the closed the door."
The Rapporteur plans to "widen the areas of engagement" during his second year at the job. He also hopes to check "some subjects that the govt of Iran is extremely interested in."
He urged Tehran to honor its own constitution and laws, in addition to abide by international laws and obligations. He often known as for "a moratorium on death penalty," the "release of human rights defenders" and an examination of laws that adversely affect journalists.
From WhatNewsToday.net
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