Ghasemi Criticizes UN Report on Human Rights Situation in Iran

Bahram Ghasemi, the spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, described the latest report by the UN Secretary-General regarding the human rights situation in Iran as "lacking credibility and value" on Thursday, March 1. The annual report of the Human Rights Council was presented to this council's meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 1. The report highlights the suppression of journalists and political and civil activists, the high number of executions, especially of juvenile offenders, and the ongoing discrimination against women and religious minorities in Iran. According to IRNA, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated that such reports are "fundamentally flawed both in nature and procedure and are therefore considered lacking credibility and value from the perspective of the Islamic Republic of Iran." Ghasemi added that the Secretary-General's report on the human rights situation in Iran is "deficient and contains many errors, which, in addition to being based on an unjust and political resolution, has been prepared using unreliable, incorrect, and entirely discredited sources and information." He also mentioned that this report is "unbalanced and prepared with a specific bias." The report presented to the Human Rights Council emphasized that Iran continues to mistreat prisoners, including the use of physical or psychological coercion to extract confessions from detainees. Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, also called on Iran to respect the rights of prisoners, including those detained during the protests in January. During the January protests in Tehran and dozens of cities in Iran, at least 25 people were killed, and thousands were arrested. The initial protests over economic conditions quickly took on a political nature, with slogans against the leader and the entirety of the Islamic Republic, or in support of the Pahlavi dynasty. The UN report examined various issues related to the human rights situation in Iran. It welcomed the change in the harsh penalty law for drug offenders, stating that this law would change the fate of 5,300 offenders facing the death penalty. The UN report specified that there has been no progress in the areas of freedom of expression, protection of minority rights, and allowing them to work in Iran, and that suppression and restrictions in these areas continue. The report noted that 482 people were executed in Iran last year. Among them, 213 were executed for drug-related offenses, and 202 for murder. Additionally, 24 were executed for sexual assault charges, 16 for theft and armed robbery, and two for political crimes. International organizations have repeatedly criticized human rights violations in Iran in recent years. Amnesty International also criticized the violation of the fundamental rights of Iranian citizens in its annual report, mentioning issues such as unfair trials, the execution of offenders under 18 years of age, and the suppression of freedom of expression and the right to protest in the Islamic Republic.