Iran blasts Norway for taking facts wrong over Ebadi

          
          11/27/2009 Press TV
          1L F TV
          Iran blasts Norway for taking facts wrong over Ebadi
          Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:44:43 GMT
          After Norway accused the Tehran government of confiscating the medal of Nobel Peace laureate
          Shirin Ebadi, Iran urges Oslo officials to ‘get theirfacts straight before taking sides'.
          Ebadi, an Iranian lawyer, had earlier claimed that authorities acting on orders from Tehran's
          Revolutionary Court, have taken away her peace prize medal and her Legion of Honor.
          She claimed the authorities also seized a ring awarded to her by a German association of
          journalists and froze all the bank accounts of her husband and herself.
          Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said Friday that he was “shocked and concerned”
          by the move.
          “This is the first time a Nobel Peace Prize has been confiscated by national authorities,” claimed
          Gahr.
          Answering to a reporter's question about the issue on Friday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman
          Ramin Mehman-Parast rejected Ebadi's claims.
          “It is most surprising to see Norwegian officials jump to conclusions without respecting international
          regulations and taking enough time to see both sides of the matter,” added Mehman-Parast in
          response to the claims made by the Norwegian Foreign Minister.
          “Much the same as European countries, tax evasion is a crime in Iran and individuals would face
          legal penalties should they commit such an act,” added Mehman-Parast.
          Mehman-Parast said that if Norwegian officials really cared about human rights, they would have
          never abstained from a crucial United Nations vote on Israeli war crimes.
          He was referring to the Goldstone Report, a 575-page investigative account headed by Jewish
          South African judge Richard Goldstone, which detailed numerous acts of war crimes and human
          rights violations committed by Israeli soldiers during their incursion into Gaza last year.
          The resolution was put to vote in the UN General Assembly on November 5 and was eventually
          endorsed by 114 members.
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