Iran Orders Laureate's Protection

Shirin Ebadi (file pic)

Mrs Ebadi told police one recent note said that her death was near

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has ordered police to ensure the safety of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, state media reports.

The move comes a day after Mrs Ebadi said that death threats against herself and her family had intensified.

The president also ordered a police investigation into the threats Mrs Ebadi had received, reports IRNA.

Shirin Ebadi, who is a lawyer, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for her work on human rights and democracy.

She has continued to speak out on human rights issues in Iran and has defended clients in a number of high profile rights cases.

During media interviews in the past Mrs Ebadi has spoken about death threats made against her.

In a letter to Iran's police chief, distributed to the media on Monday, she said that threats against herself and her family had intensified.

She said a note had recently been left at the entrance of her office building saying that her death was near.

And she enclosed what she said were copies of other threatening letters she had received.

The Nobel Laureate said those who wished her dead did not have any personal animosity towards her - they were just against her thoughts and beliefs.

Therefore, she suggested, it should not be difficult to find those who had written such threatening notes.

______________________________________________________________________

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-04-14-voa14.cfm

Iranian Rights Activist Says Death Threats Intensifying
By VOA News 14 April 2008

Iranian human rights lawyer and Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi says death threats against her and her family are intensifying.

Shirin Ebadi

Ebadi said in a faxed statement Monday, that those who wish her dead do not have any personal animosity toward her, but are opposed to her ideas.

The Nobel laureate included samples of the death threats in her statement, including one that warned her to watch her tongue or be avenged.

Ebadi was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 2003 for her work promoting women's and children's rights in Iran. She has provoked leading clerics with her protests against rights abuses in the country.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

================================================================
To leave the list, send your request by email to: wunrn_listserve-request@lists.wunrn.com. Thank you.