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Diplomat calls UN rights commissioner out for hypocrisy over Kirillov killing

The Russian diplomat recalled that a few months ago, when terrorist methods were used in Lebanon to detonate pagers and other electronic devices, the high commissioner himself and OHCHR experts promptly issued condemnations, calling for a thorough investigation of the incident

GENEVA, December 19. /TASS/. The response given by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to the recent assassination of Russian General Igor Kirillov is a clear show of hypocrisy by the UN body, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Office in Geneva Gennady Gatilov said.

Gatilov’s statement, released on the mission’s official Telegram channel, comes as a response to the OHCHR official representative, Elizabeth Throssell, who, in answer to a Russian journalist, said that her organization does not have sufficient information to comment on the details of the incident. In her opinion, the killing of military personnel during conflicts does not fundamentally violate the norms of international humanitarian law.

In Gatilov’s words, the statement can only be interpreted as "the height of hypocrisy and double standards on the part of this UN human rights body."

"The OHCHR statement is a striking example of deliberate disregard and even cover-up of Ukrainian crimes by UN human rights officials," he went on. "It is noteworthy that this response was given to a question regarding whether the OHCHR condemns what is clearly an act of terrorism — an explosive device planted at the entrance of an apartment building located hundreds of kilometers away from the active conflict zone."

The Russian diplomat recalled that a few months ago, when terrorist methods were used in Lebanon to detonate pagers and other electronic devices, the high commissioner himself and OHCHR experts promptly issued condemnations, calling for a thorough investigation of the incident.

In this regard, Gatilov called upon the UN body to strictly adhere to the principles of neutrality and impartiality, and categorically condemn the blatant terrorist methods used by the Kiev government.

According to investigators, on the morning of December 17, an explosive device that was planted in an electric scooter went off near the entrance of a residential building on Ryazansky Avenue in Moscow. The blast killed Chief of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, 54, and his aide. The Russian Investigative Committee has classified the explosion as a terrorist attack, and an investigation is underway. The Russian Federal Security Service said it apprehended the perpetrator of the assassination, an Uzbek national. According to the agency, the man was promised $100,000 and residence in an EU country as a reward.

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