Growing Demands For Protection And Guarantee Of Shirin Ebadi's Civil And Political Rights

The situation of Nobel peace laureate and human rights defender Shirin Ebadi grows increasingly critical. Over the last two weeks the organization she heads, Defenders of Human Rights Center, was shut down, false accusations of tax evasion were made against her in the media, her private law offices were raided and confidential case files seized, and on January 1st a mob of 150 demonstrated in front of her house in an orchestrated attempt to connect her to the Israeli actions in Gaza. Protestors began kicking the door to her home and vandalized the exterior of her property in an attempt to further intimidate her.

We condemn the Iranian government's campaign against the country's most prominent human rights activist, and demand that they guarantee Shirin Ebadi's safety and her civil and political rights.

Join the over eighty human rights organizations and activists who have expressed grave concern for Ms. Ebadi's safety and human rights. Send an email to wlp [at] learningpartnership [dot] org.

For more information, see WLP's alert issued on December 30th, Change for Equality website, Feminist School website, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's statement of concern.