Iranian Judicial and Diplomatic Officials Meet with Ahmed Shaheed

The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry and the Secretary of the Human Rights Headquarters of the Judiciary reported that judicial and diplomatic officials of the Islamic Republic met with Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran. According to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), Marzieh Afkham, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, stated on Wednesday, March 17, that 'meetings have been held at the level of our representations and delegations that traveled to Geneva and New York with Ahmed Shaheed.' She added, 'At the same time, views have been explicitly expressed to him, and various interviews and unrealistic documents he has presented have been criticized, and related discussions and documents have also been presented.' She emphasized, 'These efforts continue as a collection, and... negotiations in this regard can also be effective.' A day before Ms. Afkham's remarks, Mohammad Javad Larijani, the Secretary of the Human Rights Headquarters of the Judiciary, also reported that Iranian officials 'at various levels, including judicial and diplomatic...' had met with Ahmed Shaheed. These two officials of the Islamic Republic did not provide further details about these meetings. The UN Human Rights Council appointed Ahmed Shaheed, former Foreign Minister of the Maldives, as the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran on June 17, 2011, and extended his mandate on March 27, 2014. Iranian officials have so far opposed Mr. Shaheed's visit to Iran and have raised multiple accusations against him. Among them, the Secretary of the Human Rights Headquarters of the Judiciary has been the most critical of Ahmed Shaheed, and in some cases, he has not refrained from insulting him. For instance, Mohammad Javad Larijani on Tuesday referred to Mr. Shaheed's request to visit Iran as a 'commercial show' and stated that the Islamic Republic's cooperation with him 'is more than he deserves.' Mr. Larijani emphasized, 'My question is, what are you going to do when you come to Iran? He says I will investigate the accusations against your country. 1,300 accusations! We ask him how much time he needs for each accusation. For example, three hours, which if multiplied by 1,300, how many days do you want to stay in Iran?' He added, 'We say choose two topics for what you want to do because according to the logic of the UN, a rapporteur who goes somewhere says that I want to do these things, which we have no problem with.' According to UN officials, since 2005, Iran has not allowed representatives of this organization to visit the country to investigate the human rights situation. Before the transformation of the UN Human Rights Commission into the Human Rights Council, Reynaldo Galindo Pohl from 1986 to 1994 and Maurice Copithorne from 1995 to 2001 served as the Special Rapporteurs on Human Rights in Iran. Mr. Copithorne stated in a 2011 interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that after the publication of his first report on Iran, 'the leaders of the Islamic Republic became so angry' that they no longer allowed him to travel to Iran. On Tuesday, Mr. Larijani also accused Mr. Shaheed of 'having extensive cooperation with terrorists and officially being in contact with them.' He also stated that the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran has ignored reports from Iranian officials about, according to him, 'the assassination of 17,000 people' by the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization. He added, 'For example, a person who has been sentenced to death for assassinating at least four people, including a teacher, a baker, a passerby, and a child, is introduced as a cultural figure.' Mohammad Javad Larijani has previously referred to Ahmed Shaheed with terms such as 'Ahmed the Wicked,' 'ignorant,' and 'malicious.'