Nobel Women's Initiative

In the face of increasing threats and intimidation, Shirin Ebadi remains courageously determined to stay in Iran to defend fellow human rights advocates. She needs your support.

TAKE ACTION:

Join the international community in demanding the Iranian government put an end to the intimidation against Shirin Ebadi and other human rights defenders.

Click here to find the Iranian representative/embassy in your country. Write and urge them to secure the safety and protection of Ebadi and other human rights activists, so they may continue their critical work in Iran free from fear.

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Make sure the United Nations takes action as well. Write to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, and ask that she appoint a special investigator to look into the intimidation and harassment of Shirin Ebadi. Click here for a letter to Ms. Pillay from Nobel Peace Laureates.

BACKGROUND:

On December 21, 2008, just before a celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights' 60th anniversary, Iranian security forces raided and closed the Defenders of Human Rights Center and the Center for Participation in Clearing Mined Areas, both founded by Dr. Ebadi, .

On December 29, government officials raided Dr. Ebadi's private law office and seized her computers and confidential case files. Officials justified confiscation on pretense of investigations regarding tax evasion, despite Dr. Ebadi having been cleared by tax officials just days earlier.

On the morning of January 1, 2009,a mob of 150 men attacked the building that houses both Ebadi's home and office. She called police to the scene, who arrived only to stand by and watch. The mob chanted and spray-painted accusations against Ebadi across the exteriors, vandalizing her home and office, and attempted to kick down the door. The police did not intervene.

Shirin Ebadi is a human rights lawyer and an activist for peace. She has faced constant public defamation for her work in Iran, as well as countless threats on her life and personal safety. In August 2008, these threats extended to her daughter. Other human rights defenders suffer the increasing persecution as well. Additionally, the recent seizure of Ebadi's confidential case files also puts the safety of her clients in jeopardy.

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MORE WAYS YOU CAN TAKE ACTION TO DEFEND SHIRIN EBADI:

Code Pink: Ahmadinejad- Stand up for human rights!

Feminist Majority Foundation: Defend the safety and work of Iran's pre-eminent human rights lawyer

Women's Learning Partnership: Women's and human rights organizations concerned for the safety of Shirin Ebadi

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LEARN MORE:

Read our Media Release: Nobel Peace Laureates Call For Protection of Fellow Laureate in Iran- Shirin Ebadi

Read Notable Peace Activists Protest Threats Against Shirin Ebadi.

Read the latest Nobel Women's Initiative news on the Middle East and Women's Rights .

Learn more about the Middle East and Women's Rights in our website's Issues section.