Ban Voices Concerns Over Threats Against Iranian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
UN, New York, Jan 3 2009 12:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed his great concern over reports that Iranian lawyer, human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi has been threatened recently.
It has also been reported that her Center for the Defense of Human Rights has been broken into and materials taken, and that hostile crowds have gathered outside her office and home.
Mr. Ban "calls on the Iranian authorities to take immediate measures to prevent any further harassment and to ensure Shirin Ebadi''s safety and security," according to a statement issued by his spokesperson.
Jan 3 2009 12:10PM
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The day before:
ReplyDeleteUS State Dept Press Statement
Sean McCormack
Washington, DC. January 2, 2009
Intimidation of Human Rights Activists in Iran
The United States condemns the continued harassment of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi. On December 29, Iranian authorities raided her law office and seized computers and confidential files on her clients. On January 1, protestors chanted death threats and spray painted slogans on Ms. Ebadi’s home.
These events are part of an increasingly hostile campaign of harassment against human rights activists inside Iran. We urge the Iranian authorities to allow human rights activists and civil society organizations to operate free of oppression. With our friends and allies in the region and the world, we stand with the people of Iran who are trying peacefully to exercise their universal human rights, and call upon the Government of Iran to abide by its human rights commitments and obligations.
2009/004
Released on January 2, 2009