Tehran, December 30: Amid reports about the suspected death of Iranian prisoner Ali-Reza Asgari in an Israeli prison, an Iranian lawmaker says the United Nations and the Israeli regime should be held accountable on the case.
“The UN and Zionist regime (Israel) are responsible for the life of Mr. Asgari, the former deputy defense minister of our country, in prisons of the regime,” Mohammad Karim Abedi told IRNA on Wednesday.
Abedi, who serves as the deputy head of the Human Rights Committee of Iran’s Parliament (Majlis), added that the Israeli move to kidnap Asgari in collaboration with the US is a clear instance of “state terrorism.”
He called on international bodies to act swiftly to determine his status.
“Iran calls on the UN Human Rights Committee to set up a team to verify his status and report the outcome to the Islamic Republic,” the Iranian lawmaker said.
“With regard to the fact that the Iranian official had been kidnapped in Turkey while on a trade trip to the country, Ankara should be held responsible for the case,” he went on to say.
Asgari mysteriously disappeared in Turkey in 2007. He was believed to have been abducted and transferred to Israel.
On Wednesday, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said the suspected death of Asgari in an Israeli prison would thicken Tel Aviv’s dossier on kidnappings, assassinations and murders, if the credibility of the report is confirmed.
“This inhumane action is another test for the international community that advocates human rights,” the Iranian minister added.
Israel has conducted similar criminal acts in the past, namely the kidnapping of four Iranian diplomats in Lebanon on July 4, 1982, at an inspection post in northern Lebanon.
Israel claims that Ahmad Motevasselian, Seyyed Mohsen Mousavi, Taqi Rastegar Moqaddam and Kazem Akhavan were abducted by a group of Lebanese Forces and killed shortly after their abduction.
——–Agencies