Iran shuts down rights center

          
          8/10/2010
          Police Shut Down Iran's Main Human
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          Iran Shuts Down Rights Center
          Police Close Offices of Group Led by Nobel Peace Laureate Hours Before Commemoration
          By Thomas Erdbr/nk TOOLBOX
          Washington Post Foreign Service
          Monday, December 22, 2008 . Resize Print Sm ail
          Yahoo! Buzz
          TEHRAN, Dec. 21 - - Iranian authorities on Sunday
          closed the office of the country's main human rights COMMENT
          organization, headed by Nobel Peace Prize winner
          ShirinEbadi. 19 Coments I View All))
          COMMENTS ARECLOSED
          Dozens of plainclothes detectives and local police
          officers entered the Center for the Defense of Human WHO'S BL000ING power Ld i, sphere
          Rights in Tehran and shut it dovin hours before a Links to this article
          ceremony was to take place commemorating the 60th
          anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Sponsored Links
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          been active since 2000, the police had been informed
          of the meeting, at ‘which political activists ‘were
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          ‘The general human rights activities of this www.GoSo rUSA.com
          nongovernmental organization are the reason for this
          illegal reaction,” the center's leadership said in a Bu,j a link here
          statement. Center officials speculated that the closure ‘was in part a response to a United
          Nations resolution issued Thursday that expressed “deep concern” about the human rights
          situation in Iran.
          Iran has been protesting for months against the resolution, ‘which'was put forward by
          Canada. In October, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued a special human rights
          report that called on Iran to address concerns such as “amputations and corporal
          punishment.”
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          Fisurs 1NVE.' TMENTC
          Ebadi's organization assisted the United
          Nations in compiling the report. ‘Many
          international organizations quote our
          reports, including the report by the
          secretary-general, ‘which resulted in a
          resolution against the government of the
          Islamic republic of Iran,” the center's
          statement read.
          An Interior Ministry commission that issues
          permits for political organizations said the
          center ‘was carrying out illegal activities,
          such as publishing statements, writing letters
          to intemational organizations and holding
          news conferences, the semiofficial Mehr News Agency reported.
          The commission, according to the news agency, accused Ebadi's center of distributing
          propaganda against the state. The report also cited repeated warnings delivered to the
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          8/10/2010 Police Shut Down Iran 's Main Human
          center and said the building had been sealed on the order of Tehran s top prosecutor. See All of Slate>)
          In a telephone interview, Ebadi called the closure of her organization's office ‘illegal” and
          “unacceptable.” She vowed to reopen the center, saying that “the police actions are against
          the law”
          Ebadi acknowledged that the human rights center did not have a permit to operate but said
          authorities had blocked its legalization.
          Since its founding, the organization has taken on 5,000 pro bono cases defending
          politically active women, journalists and students, said spokeswoman Nargess
          Mobammadi.
          On Sunday, guests were arriving for the ceremony when police officers escorted Ebadi
          and her colleagues from the building. They had refused to leave their offices for more than
          an hour.
          ‘This was supposed to be one of the fewhappy events for activists in Iran,” said Asieh
          Amini, a journalist who focuses on human rights issues and who was one of about 300
          invited guests. Amini said plainclothes officers took video of the guests.
          The human rights center was financed with the $1.4 million Ebadi received when she was
          awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003. After death threats were pinned to the door of her
          home in April, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose policies Ebadi opposes,
          promised to investigate. No findings were made public.
          In addition to its human rights work, the center has a committee on fair elections. The
          office of Ebadi's other organization, which focuses on mine-clearing and is in the same
          building, was also closed Sunday.
          Iran has a history of anesting and pressuring dissidents who question the country's record
          on human rights and democracy.
          On Sunday a special prize for oppressed dissidents was supposed to be given to Taghi
          Rahmani, an opposition figure who had been arrested several times, on charges of
          committing crimes against national security. Rahmani was to be honored for his work
          promoting human rights in Iran.
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