Washington, 22 September (WashingtonTV)—Two human rights groups on Monday called on the United Nations General Assembly to appoint a special envoy to probe rights abuses in Iran, since June’s disputed presidential election.
Human Rights Watch and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said that the 192 member-states should seize on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s attendance at the General Assembly this week to demand accountability for the government’s violent crackdown on protesters.
The groups cited “unlawful use of lethal force against peaceful protesters, lengthy solitary confinement and coerced confessions”, as well as “numerous allegations of torture and rape of detainees.”
“Despite the government’s tightening grip and resort to brutality, responsible members of Iran’s civil society and political and clerical communities continue to demand the authorities respect fundamental rights and Iran’s international obligations, at grave risk to their own well-beign,” said Hadi Ghaemi, head of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
“Member-states of the United Nations should honor the courage of Iran’s citizens by appointing a special envoy,” he added.
The two rights groups said that since the 12 June election, more than 4,000 people were detained, and that nearly 400 still remained in custody.
“The international community’s voice, heard through th...
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