Iran Raps Ahmed Shaheed for Unfair Report

(FNA)- Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham blasted the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, for giving out an unjust report against Tehran that, she said, has been compiled on the basis of unorthodox methods and not through research.

"The report is one-sided and unrealistic and has been compiled without paying attention to the regulations pertaining to the responsibilities of Human Rights Council agents and lacks the necessary legal basis," Afkham told reporters in her weekly press conference in Tehran on Wednesday.

"We are suspicious of the unfair and unscientific performance of the rapporteur due to his ignorance of international principles and criteria," she added.

Afkham underlined that during the recent months "Shaheed has traveled to certain European countries on some so-called fact-finding mission, but made biased interviews with the media, and shown prejudiced claims from the position of a political contender against the Islamic Republic and seriously violated the rules governing the responsibilities of human rights rapporteurs".

She said that the Islamic Republic of Iran will declare its detailed view on this subject in a later statement.

Iranian officials have said before that Ahmed Shaheed has only parroted the unfounded allegations raised by anti-revolution elements against Iran since he had been tasked with accusing Iran.

In July 2013, Secretary of Iran's Human Rights Council Mohammad Javad Larijani said Shaheed had merely parroted the allegations made by the terrorist groups against Tehran.

Shaheed’s reports about the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic are based on “anti-Iran websites and are thus invalid”, Larijani said at the time.

Larijani said the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran gives references to mere allegations.

Shaheed cites people who speak on the condition of anonymity, the Iranian official said, adding, “Only allegations which carry signs of probity and validity could be investigated.”

“Ahmad Shaheed merely pieces together allegations against Iran, while anyone can easily compile similar reports by searching the anti-Iran websites. His work is unjustified and totally invalid from a professional standpoint.”