Activist subject to assassination bid in Geneva: NGO

By Abdul-Jabbar Abu Ras

ISTANBUL

Lebanese rights activist Tareq Shandab was the target of an assassination attempt earlier this month after delivering a presentation at the UN’s Geneva headquarters, according to a statement issued Monday by the International Jurists Union.

Describing the incident as "barbaric", the Istanbul-based union went on to demand an "urgent investigation" into the alleged incident.

"Six unidentified individuals with knives attacked Shandab as he was returning to his hotel… after making a presentation on Iranian terrorism and its proponents," the statement read.

The union went on to assert that security guards at the hotel had intervened to rescue Shandab, prompting the perpetrators to flee the scene.

Swiss police, the union added, were currently searching for those responsible.

The jurists’ union went on to urge various parties to cooperate with the police investigation -- especially the Iraqi and Iranian delegations, members of which, the union alleged, "allowed those responsible [for the reported attack] to obtain permits to enter the UN building" in Geneva.