Iranian Nobel Laureate Ebadi Criticizes Human Rights in Iran
VOA via payvand / Margaret Besheer
13-Nov-2009

Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi urged the international community Wednesday to throw its support behind a U.N. General Assembly resolution condemning the lack of human rights in her native Iran. Ebadi said she has invited the U.N. Secretary-General to visit Iran and see for himself the deteriorating state of freedoms there.

Shirin Ebadi outlined numerous human rights abuses happening in her country, including the execution of minors, discrimination against religious minorities and women, and the lack of free speech.

She warned that the situation has deteriorated significantly since the disputed presidential election last June that ultimately returned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to office, but triggered a wave of political protests. Ebadi, heard here through a translator, says those arrested after the vote have been deprived of their legal rights. "Pursuant to the statement of the government itself, 3,000 people have been detained after the elections. Although I believe that the number is higher than that. Some of them have been placed on bail and have been released. But unfortunately, both in Tehran and in other cities, there are a number of people in prison," she said.

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