Iranian Delegation to the U.N. Includes Accused Human Rights Abuser

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June 22, 2006 1:51 PM

The government of Iran has picked one of its top alleged human rights abusers to represent the Islamic republic at the first session of the brand new U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, according to several sources. The Geneva-based non-profit press outfit "Human Rights Tribune" reported a chill in the institution's assembly room yesterday as several delegates recognized Saeed Mortazavi, Tehran's Prosecutor General, among them.

According to the advocacy group Human Rights Watch, Mortazavi has been responsible for the arbitrary detention, forced confessions and torture of dozens of individuals, including more than 20 web bloggers in 2004 as part of a massive crackdown on the freedom of the press.  In this campaign, which started in 2000 and has earned him the moniker "butcher of the press," Mortazavi ordered the closure of over 100 newspapers, says Hadi Ghaemi, an expert on Iran for Human Rights Watch. 

Iran has not succeeded in its attempts to become a part of the Council, but it is an observer there.  Several human rights organizations and the Foreign Minister of Canada, Peter McKay, expressed outrage at Mortazavi's presence on the delegation, which some called an insult to the U.N. body. 

In 2003, a Canadian-Iranian photojournalist died in Iranian custody after she had been arrested for taking pictures in front of a prison.  "Two official Iranian government investigations found that Prosecutor General Mortazavi ordered the illegal arrest and detention of Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi, which led to her torture and death. He then falsified documents to cover up his involvement in her case," Canada's Foreign Minister said in an official statement yesterday.  He said, "The Government of Canada expresses its disgust at the fact that Iran would choose to include such a person in its delegation to a new U.N. body intended to promote the highest standards of respect for human rights."

"By sending him, they are intimating the message that 'no one can hold us accountable,' that a human rights violator can be shown off in the human rights arena." In doing so, Iran is attempting to show "the impotence of international human rights mechanisms," Hadi Ghaemi told ABC News.

U.N. officials have stated the U.N. has no say in the composition of governments' delegations, according to the Associated Press and other outlets. Calls were placed to Iran's U.N. mission in New York, but no one could be reached for comments.