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Iran Illegally Siezes Assets of Shirin Ebadi
Iranian authorities have illegally frozen the assets of Nobel Peace Laureate, Shirin Ebadi, and seized a safety deposit 
box containing her Nobel Peace Prize. This in a bid to increase pressure on Ebadi after her widespread calls on the Iranian government to improve human rights.
"Iranian officials want to put pressure on me in this way but it is not working," Ebadi said, according to the website of Radio Farda, a Farsi-language service that broadcasts from Europe to Iran.
"If the Islamic republic is angry about the publication of human rights reports, they would do better by improving the human rights situation," she told them.
Since the disputed elections in Iran in June, Ebadi has been calling on United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, to go to Iran and investigate the human rights abuses. In July a group of Nobel Laureates also called on the Secretary General to send a special envoy to Iran to investigate human rights violations following the elections.
If the Islamic republic is angry about the publication of human rights reports, they would do better by improving the human rights situation. -- Shirin Ebadi
Norway's Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere called the confiscation of Ebadi's medal "shocking." He said it was the first time in the 108-year history of the prize that it has been confiscated by national authorities. He said Iran's actions are a sign of the increasing pressure Tehran is putting on Ebadi.
LEARN MORE
Why Iran is targeting Nobel winner Ebadi, Time Magazine online, 30 November 2009.
Iran seizes Nobel winner Shirin Ebadi's medal, Times Online, 27 November 2009.
Ebadi defiant despite Iran assets seizure: report, AFP, 27 November 2009.
IRAN: Authorities confiscate lawyer Shirin Ebadi's Nobel Peace Prize, LA Times Blogs, 27 November 2009.
Visit the Iran News section of the Nobel Women's Initiative website.
Visit Change for Equality, the One Million Signature Campaign for Equality in Iran
Visit the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran for news and updates.