Ahmad Shahid: Asma Jahangir Becomes UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran

Ahmad Shahid, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, has announced that Asma Jahangir, a Pakistani human rights lawyer and activist, will be appointed as his successor. Mr. Shahid congratulated Ms. Jahangir on Twitter on Wednesday, September 1. He stated that he will hand over his responsibilities to Asma Jahangir in November (from November 1 to December 1). Ms. Jahangir is 64 years old and was born in Lahore, Pakistan. She is considered one of the prominent and long-standing human rights activists in Pakistan and is the founder of the country's Human Rights Commission. Ms. Jahangir was a leader of the Pakistani lawyers' movement in 2007, which arose in protest against the suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry by then-President Pervez Musharraf. She was imprisoned in 1983 for participating in protests against the military rule of Zia-ul-Haq and was placed under house arrest for a period in 2007. Asma Jahangir served as the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief from 2004 to 2010 and has received numerous international human rights awards. Ahmad Shahid has served as the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran since 2011 and has condemned the Islamic Republic for human rights violations in various reports. During his tenure, he faced harsh attacks and insults from Iranian officials. The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights collects and organizes news and instances related to human rights violations in their area of work and submits them to the United Nations. In this context, dozens of online activists have been summoned or arrested in the provinces of Kurdistan and Fars by the IRGC. Omid Kokabi was conditionally released from prison. Ahmad Shahid condemned the execution of 12 people in Iran related to drug offenses. Larijani commented on recent executions: the West should thank Iran. The changing dynamics of 'proxy wars'; war against the people in the streets of Iran. The first paragraph; the responsibility of the opposition and the possibility of radicalization of Iranian society. The death of the last Mossad representative in Tehran amidst the Iranian crisis.