Russia
Asks Who Is
Killing
Nuclear
Scientists in
Iran, NGO
Says "Watch
This Site"
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
May 24 -- Who
is killing
nuclear
scientists in
Iran? The
question was
raised
Thursday by
Russia in the
UN Committee
on
Non-Governmental
Organizations.
The
Iran Human
Rights
Documentation
Center is
doggedly
pursuing
accreditation,
even
as Iran
intervenes to
say the group
is 86% funded
by the US
State
Department and
says that of
course
"strings are
attached."
As
Inner City
Press
has
already
covered,
yesterday the
US asked to
close the case
of a
Sudan-based
NGO, saying it
supports
terrorists.
"Show us some
evidence," a
Sudanese
diplomat
crowed
Thursday to
Inner City
Press, basking
in its
"victory" over
the US.
During
the
questioning of
the Iran Human
Rights
Documentation
Center on
Thursday, the
US stayed
quiet. Israel
asked to hear
more about
executions in
Iran;
relatively new
IHRDC director
Gissou Nia
said
there have
been 50
executions in
the last two
weeks, mostly
for drug
charges.
Gissou
Nia was
asked to
describe the
group's web
site; she
cited a
feature on
discrimination
against "a
certain
minority."
Afterward
Inner City
Press asked
her, why not
just say
"Kurds"? She
indicated
sometimes it
was better to
say less,
citing Turkey.
The
most
interesting
exchange began
with the
Russian
delegate
demanding to
know if IHRDC
ever covered
the killing of
Iranian
nuclear
scientists
by terrorists.
Gissou Nia
replied that
it is sad,
these
scientists
are "under
pressure" in
the country,
some have
their
passports
confiscated.
She said to
"watch the
website" in a
month and a
half, and
afterward
provide some
additional
details to
Inner City
Press.
But
will Iran
Human Rights
Documentation
Center ever
get
accredited?
Only if the
issue is taken
out of the NGO
Committee to
the full
ECOSOC, as
sometimes
happens. Watch
this site.
, 
