Iranian official says UN human rights rapporteur took bribes from U.S.

TEHRAN,March 9(MNA) — Mohammad Javad Larijani, secretary general of Iran's High Council for Human Rights, has accused the UN special rapporteur for human rights in Iran of taking bribes from the United States. Larijani said Ahmed Shaheed received money from the U.S. and that was why he could only parrot U.S. allegations against Iran. "The money the special rapporteur has received from the U.S. State Department has led to a situation that he cannot write about anything except their anti-Iran desires," Larijani was quoted as saying. Larijani said Iran has provided UN with considerable evidence of violations by Shaheed. Meanwhile European Union diplomats said on Thursday that the EU will impose sanctions next week on nine Iranian officials and other people they blame for alleged human rights violations in Iran, Reuters reported. In a report issued in Geneva on February 28, Shaheed voiced concern at what he called an apparent rise in the frequency and gravity of abuses in Iran and claimed that the Islamic Republic had failed to investigate “widespread, systemic, and systematic violations of human rights.” The new EU sanctions are separate from measures imposed on Iran over its nuclear program. Foreign ministers of EU governments will give their final approval to the new list on Monday and names will be made public on Tuesday. The Iranian Judiciary’s Human Rights Committee on Tuesday dismissed Shaheed’s recent report, saying it shows abuse of the United Nations mechanisms. The Human Rights Committee said that the report was “illegal” and “not based on the realities,” adding that it was meant to exert pressure on Iran, which is an independent country. The report lacks legal weight and is meant to promote Islamophobia, the committee said. It also defended Iran’s human rights record and called the Islamic Republic a democratic country.