even though Iran has rejected his request to allow him to go to Iran. Ahmed Shaheed (photo), the former foreign minister of the Maldives, says he will travel to France, Germany and Belgium this month to interview Iranian exiles. “A visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran would have allowed me to gain a better understanding of the situation,” Shaheed said. “However, I will now study a wide range of human rights issues by meeting activists within the Iranian diaspora, alleged victims of human rights violations, intergovernmental and civil society organizations.”