Nobel Laureate Ebadi "Threatened with Death" in Iran

Khaleej Times Online:

Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi said on Tuesday she has been repeatedly threatened with death in her home country Iran. Winning the Nobel Peace Prize of 2003 did not protect her from repression, she said in an interview in the newspaper Die Presse while attending the current international conference in Vienna on “Islam in a Pluralistic World”.

“I am threatened with death in Iran. I’m constantly getting anonymous threatening letters. I am accused of defending western human rights, and working against the interests of Iran.”

“I was already in prison once, and there were two attempted terror attacks on me. By a miracle I stayed alive”, said the lawyer and human rights campaigner. READ MORE

She said that since the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president in June this year, the situation in Iran had become ”stricter”. However, under the constitution the president had no great powers, she added.

“Khatami believed in reform deep in his heart. But he couldn’t do anything.”

Ebadi said that during his presidency she had been arrested. “Khatami said he was very sorry about it. He couldn’t help. Now it’s not much different, but the president doesn’t apologise any more.”