Mortazavi: Iran intends to closely cooperate with UN Human Rights Council (this is a very sick joke)

Tehran Prosecutor General Saeed Mortazavi said that formation of the United Nations Human Rights Council is a major development facing world nations and urged governments to attempt safeguard human rights as a necessity of the present age.

He told IRNA that the UN Human Rights Council should be strongly supported by all countries, adding that Iran intends to cooperate closely with this newly-founded council.

Currently visiting Geneva to attend the first UN Human Rights Council meeting, he added, "The Human Rights Council should be an assembly of lawyers and human rights experts representing all cultures and civilizations to observe the human rights situation throughout the world independently and unbiased.

He underlined that the council should also consider the most critical cases of human rights violation in today's world.

The prosecutor general said that nations right to determine their own destiny and negation of tribes' identity in their own lands are among the most fundamental rights, which have been constantly violated in the present age.

"The UN Human Rights Council should not disregard the issue of Palestine, violation of the rights of its people who have been residing there through centuries and ages as well as the fact that it has turned into a center of conflict and defense of primary human rights.

"International peace and security do not mean that developing countries should be absolutely inactive and let big powers violate human rights," he added.

Mortazavi said that the UN Human Rights Council should pay attention to UN Charter as well as international laws and human rights treaties, adding that human rights includes civic, political, cultural, social, economic development and non-discriminatory rights.

The prosecutor general said that the right to access high technologies, including nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, as a basic right of all nations.

He added that the UN Human Rights Council should strictly avoid being converted into a means for exerting pressure on behalf of powerful states.

"The council is expected to examine cases of human rights violation by some Western and European countries without any reservation.

"Violation of the Holocaust deniers' freedom of expression, citizens rights, migrants rights, human rights in the battle against terrorism as well as violations taking place in case of the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) secret flights, children and supportless migrants, opposition to Islamic dress code and veil are some of such violations," he added.

He referred to various examples of human rights violations by the US which should be put high on the agenda of the UN Human Rights Council, including the catastrophes caused by the US in various parts of the world, such as the Guantanamo Bay detention center, the US prison in Kosovo, Bagram prison in Afghanistan, Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, CIA's secret prisons and pressures exerted on American citizens.

Mortazavi said that the remarks of the lawyers inspecting the Guantanamo Bay detention center, explanation of the recently released Egyptian inmate on his torture by Americans in this prison and torture of prisoners in Guantanamo by modern methods should be examined.

"Meanwhile, the growing rate of suicide among inmates, refusal of US courts to investigate the complaints of prisoners and the harsh approach of the US troops to the inmates going on strike in Guantanamo prison should also be investigated by the Human Rights Council," he added.

He hoped that the UN Human Rights Council will not let the US and some hegemonic countries to misuse human rights as a tool to pressurize independent states and take revenge on them, in particular the Islamic countries, which do not agree with their illegal expectations.

The Tehran prosecutor general and prosecutor of the Revolutionary Court, accompanied by a number of judicial officials, including Justice Minister Jamal Karimi-Rad left for Geneva, Switzerland Monday morning to attend the first meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

During his stay in Geneva, Mortazavi will confer with a number of representatives of the countries attending the meeting to discuss matters of mutual concern.

The newly founded council started its activity in Geneva Monday and will continue up to June 22. It is being attended by the high-ranking representatives of more than 100 countries.

If this weren't so sick and disgraceful, I'd laugh.

Saeed Mortazavi is notorious for shutting down dozens and dozens of newspapers and magazines in Iran, filtering and blocking access to internet, and as judge and chief prosecutor, ordering, overseeing or directly administering torture and beatings of prisoners, not to mention conducting unfair trials and imposing harsh, unfair sentences, and issuing death threats.

He is strongly suspected (I have no doubts) of taking part in the torture, beating, rape and killing of Canadian photgrapher, Zahra Kazemi, of beating her in the head with his shoe.

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