Dr. Shaheed

United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has voted to extend the mandate of Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Council extended his mandate by a period of one year.

Dr. Shaheed has also held the office of Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The extension was adopted by 26 votes in favour, 2 votes against and 17 abstentions, at a session of the United Nations Human Rights Council held in Geneva, Switzerland.

Iranian authorities have refused to grant Dr. Shaheed access into the country to investigate the counrty’s human rights situation, and had accused him of accepting bribes from the United States.

Dr. Shaheed had refuted the allegations saying that the allegations were made to serve an ulterior purpose.

Speaking to Sun on a previous occasion, moments before presenting his report the U.N. Human Rights Council, Dr. Shaheed said that: “Those allegations are crazy and do not make sense. They were designed to divert the attention they [Iran] were receiving, in terms of human rights.”