Iran’s Judiciary Refutes UNHCHR Allegations on Recent Unrest

In a statement released on Tuesday, Iran’s High Council for Human Rights denounced the recent remarks by UNHCHR Michelle Bachelet, who has called on Iran to address what she called human rights violations in context of the recent unrest.

Bachelet, on December 6, expressed alarm at what she called the lack of transparency about casualties, the treatment of detainees, and the arrests during the recent unrest in Iran.

In response, the Judiciary’s High Council for Human Rights said the comments by the UN high commissioner were “extremely miserable and deplorable” in terms of being invalid and containing bogus allegations and incorrect information.

Dismissing the accusation of lack of transparency, the Iranian council said the Islamic Republic’s judicial and security officials and the media have been widely disseminating information since the outset of the recent incidents, stressing that such process has been much more accurate than in other countries such as France, the UK, and the US.

It also described the UN commissioner’s great anger at the Internet outage in Iran as a serious shortcoming in the UN body’s conduct, saying it reveals that an official international institution has founded its stances upon fake information.

People of Iran are communicating with each other via the National Web, whether the Internet is connected or not, the statement added, saying what Bachelet has hailed as a factor in transparency is in fact a platform for widespread activities of the “contemporary Western terrorism”.

It is necessary for the UN Human Rights Council to cleanse the virtual space of the horrible terrorist networks that receive support from the US, major European governments, and the Zionist regime of Israel, the statement noted.

The Iranian council also reminded Bachelet that the recent unrest in Iran, during which more than 700 gas stations were torched, more than 200 banks, public service buildings and mosques were vandalized, and civilians were sprayed with bullets in the street, have been definitely arranged by the terrorists.

The statement then advised the UNHCHR to conduct a thorough and evenhanded study to detect the active terrorist networks close to the UN commissioner and her colleagues in order to restore the public trust in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The Iranian council also called for efforts to clarify the role of the US and its European and Zionist allies in the regional chaos and bloodshed, which are aimed at controlling the region’s oil resources.

The statement also underscored that Article 27 of the Iranian Constitution recognizes the freedom of peaceful gatherings as a legitimate right of people, provided that the rally excludes arms and complies with the regulations on public security.

There is a clear distinction between peaceful civil protests and the terrorist and anarchist activities, the statement added, stressing that people have not been arrested for taking part in the peaceful protests in Iran.

The legal action has been taken only against the elements behind insecurity and riots and against those who violated the rights of people, the High Council for Human Rights added, noting that a few number of arrestees have been handed over to the Judiciary and been treated with Islamic mercy.