Dr. Ahmed Shaheed

Dr Ahmed Shaheed, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Iran, will be in Ireland on 4 and 5 March 2013 ahead of a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. On 5 March 2013 at 19.00 the Special Rapporteur will be giving a special talk on the current human rights situation in Iran in Trinity College Dublin.

Dr. Ahmed Shaheed is an internationally-recognized expert on foreign policy, international diplomacy, democratisation, and human rights reform. He has twice held the Office of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Maldives, a position he used to strengthen the country’s compliance with international human rights standards and norms.

Since his election in 2011, Dr. Shaheed has specifically called on the Government of Iran to consider the immediate release of a number of lawyers and human rights defenders, including Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani, serving 13 years in prison; Mr Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, serving 9-years in prison,and Nasrin Sotoudeh currently serving a six-year sentence.

In addition to this Dr. Shaheed has joined with other Special Rapporteurs to raise alarm about the harsh sentencing of human rights defenders, ongoing executions, the status of religious minorities, and on a death in custody.

At a press conference for his latest ground-breaking report on the human rights situation in Iran the Rapporteur declared that the situation continues to be 'disturbing'. Amongst the worrying issues he raised was that a large proportion of those he interviewed had reported abuses such as prolonged solitary confinement, beatings during interrogations, and denial of adequate access to a lawyer.