ICHRI: Ahmadinejad’s Final Visit: New Video Highlights Eight Years of Deception
International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran
(In Farsi)
(September 22, 2012)- As Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrives in New York for his last official visit to the United Nations, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has released a short video demonstrating and highlighting systematic cover-ups accompanying the marked rise in human rights violations over the eight years of his presidency.
“Every time Mahmoud Ahmadinejad comes to New York, the human rights community hopes that the international community will hold him accountable for the human rights violations orchestrated by his administration and other state entities that he has authority over as the country’s president,” said Hadi Ghaemi, spokesperson for the Campaign.
The video features five Iranian-American human rights activists responding to Ahmadinejad’s remarks on various human rights issues in interviews with Western and domestic media. Ali Abdi (student activist), Bitta Mostofi (lawyer, activist), Manijeh Nasrabadi (member of Raha Organization), Mehdi Saharkhiz (son of political prisoner Isa Saharkhiz), and Sadra Shahab (student activist), featured in this video, are all young activists who are also well known for their anti-war and anti-sanctions activities.
The video responds to Ahmadinejad’s statements on issues ranging from human rights to sanctions, and from post-election protesters to Iran’s execution record.
“Ahmadinejad’s Final Visit” complements the Campaign’s previous report (2010),Reporters’ Guide: How to Interview Iranian Officials on Human Rights Issues, which provides detailed examples and techniques for journalists to hold Ahmadinejad accountable.
“Even though Ahmadinejad does not have absolute power in Iran, he is in charge of a number of ministries that systematically violate Iranian citizens’ human rights, plan and sustain widespread censorship, and deny basic freedoms including speech and assembly,” said Ghaemi. “Ahmadinejad’s policy of denial has continued for eight years. On his last visit to the United Nations, journalists and diplomats must respond to his falsehoods and press him to acknowledge the truth about the situation of human rights in Iran.”