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UN Human Rights Investigator Appointed For Second Year


UN human rights investigator Ahmed Shaheed
UN human rights investigator Ahmed Shaheed
The United Nations has renewed the mandate of its human rights investigator for Iran.

Russia, China, and Syria were among the five countries that voted against the resolution in the Human Rights Council in Geneva that was backed by 22 countries with 20 abstentions.

During his first year in the job, former Maldives Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed was denied entry into the Islamic republic.

Earlier this month, Shaheed issued a report showing a rapidly increasing rate of executions in Iran, with some 670 people put to death last year.

According to Amnesty International, only China, with a much bigger population, executes more people.

Shaheed also voiced concern about the abuse of minorities and the persecution of homosexuals and labor unions.

Iran says his appointment was merely part of the West's maneuvers against it.

With reporting by Reuters and AP

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