Ebadi Calls for a Campaign to Release Opposition Leaders

(26 January 2012) Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate, today called for a sustained international campaign for the release of three opposition leaders under house arrest for nearly a year.

“I support the call [of political prisoners] and invite all freedom-loving people across the globe to do all they can for the release of prisoners of conscience in Iran, particularly Ms. Zahra Rahnavard, Mr. Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Mr. Mehdi Karroubi,” Ebadi said in her statement released today.

Lacking Independence, Bar Association Remains Silent as Lawyers are Prosecuted

(24 August 2011) The Iranian Central Bar Association should come to the aid of embattled lawyers subjected to harassment, unfounded criminal charges or prison sentences for defending prisoners of conscience and advocating for human rights, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

The International Bar Association and United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers should also intervene to defend Iranian lawyers facing persecution, added the Campaign.

Weekly Rights Podcast 34

In this week’s Weekly Rights Podcast: the final verdict on the three imprisoned American hikers, Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal has not been announced; National Press Club president Mark Hamrick condemns journalist Kouhyar Goudarzi’s disappearance and his mother’s arrest; Reza Khandan, husband of Nasrin Sotoudeh, talks about his and his family’s mistreatment when visiting his wife in prison; imprisoned journalist Issa Saharkhiz is sentenced to an additional two years in prison; university professor, lawyer and former MP Ghassem Sholeh Sadi’s physical condition worsens in prison; Shirin Ebadi has written a new book, The Golden Cage, about three brothers in pre-revolutionary Iran.

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Weekly Rights Podcast 32

In this week’s Weekly Rights Podcast: the final trial session for the three American hikers, Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal, and Sara Shourd has taken place; the Campaign published a report entitled, Raising Their Voices: Iranian Civil Society Reactions to the Military Option; the Campaign interviewed the head of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi; the father of imprisoned student activist Zia Nabavi expresses concern for his situation; the Supreme Court of Qom Province issued an official verdict in the case of Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani; pressure remains on women in Iran’s film industry; Amnesty International received a video of a public hanging in which three men convicted of rape were hanged; and the Iranian government announced that a clash between the Revolutionary Guard and rebels near the Iraq border ended with 2 Revolutionary Guard deaths and 21 dead rebels.

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Shirin Ebadi Criticizes Violations of Prisoners’ Rights

In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, lawyer, head of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi harshly criticized the limitations imposed on Iranian political prisoners. She emphasized the lack of allowing prisoners furlough or in-person visits with their families, and stated that according to Iranian law, the Prosecutor, Head Warden, or any other judicial official is not authorized to arbitrarily deprive a prisoner of their legal rights. “Those who are in prison because of their conscience or beliefs lack even those rights extended to smugglers,” said Ebadi.

Shirin Ebadi Says Deaths of Political Prisoners is Systematic

In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Noble Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi discussed the hunger strike embarked on by 12 political prisoners in protest of the death of Hoda Saber. Ebadi told the Campaign that the deaths of Iranian political prisoners is systematic, and that the Iranian government has caused the deaths of many political prisoners over the years. “The demands of the hunger strikers are logical and yet simple demands–to identify and hold accountable the individual who caused Hoda Saber’s death. The individual is known and some political prisoners testify that he even told them his name. Also, [they demand that] those who caused the death of Haleh Sahabi must be arrested and tried in a fair trial, where people are allowed to be present, so that the facts are known. These are their demands. Delivering these demands are the Islamic Republic’s responsibility on principle,” Ebadi said.

Ebadi Calls for March Demanding Gender Equality; Urges Constitutional Change

Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate and Director of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, has called on Iranians to hold public rallies on the occasion of International Women’s Day, 8 March, demanding reform of constitutional laws to achieve gender equality. She described her call as the beginning of a civil rights movement and not a political demand.

Ebadi: “The Murders on 14 February Were Carried Out by Government Forces”

In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and head of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, Shirin Ebadi, criticized the Iranian government’s refusal to issue permits for peaceful demonstrations and said that authorities from Iran’s Interior Ministry follow double standards. “If the Interior Ministry claims that all assemblies and demonstrations require a permit from the Ministry, then how is it that it is not considered illegal when groups gather in front of Karroubi’s home on many nights, to the point where their neighbors file complaints about the actions [of the demonstrators] which keep them from resting, but when students want to demonstrate, it is considered illegal?” Ebadi said.

Ebadi: Dutch Lawyers Could Have Shed Light on Bahrami’s Case Facts

In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate and Head of the Defenders of Human Rights Center questioned the review process in the case of Zahra Bahrami, a prisoner who was executed last week. Ebadi told the Campaign that if, according to normal diplomatic protocols, the Dutch Ambassador had been allowed to visit with Ms. Bahrami, a Dutch citizen, and if the attorneys selected by the Dutch government had been allowed to review her case, many facts would have become clear for sure. But the Iranian government was not interested in clarifying these facts. Ebadi told the Campaign that Zahra Bahrami’s execution was carried out even in direct violation of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s own laws. Ebadi also said that this execution was a message from the regime to its opposition.

Nobel Laureate to Stage Sit-in in Defense of Detained Colleague

(17 December 2010) Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Iranian lawyer Shirin Ebadi announced a sit-in in front of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva today to demand the release of her embattled colleague in Iran, Nasrin Sotoudeh. The sit-in will start on 20 December.

Sotoudeh, 47, is a prominent human rights lawyer who has been held in solitary confinement for the past 103 days and is reportedly on hunger strike. She has been bravely outspoken in defense of her clients, particularly since the disputed June 2009 presidential election.