saiTias

27/11/2009

» BBC News - Shirin Ebadi Nobel Peace Prize medal 'seized by Iran'

Iranian human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi says the Nobel Peace Prize medal she won in 2003 has been confiscated.

The medal and accompanying diploma were taken from a bank box in Tehran about three weeks ago on the orders of Iran’s Revolutionary Court, she said.

Ms Ebadi, who has criticised Iran’s recent disputed election and the subsequent treatment of protesters, said her bank account was also frozen.

Iranian authorities have not made any official comment on the issue.

Norway, which presents the award, said it was “shocked”, by the confiscation.

The country’s foreign ministry said it was the first time national authorities had taken such action.

Undeterred

Ms Ebadi told the Associated Press news agency that her French Legion d’Honneur award and a ring given by the German association of journalists were taken along with the Nobel prize.

“ I will return whenever it is useful for my country ”
Shirin Ebadi

Speaking in London, she said the Iranian authorities had also demanded taxes on the $1.3m (£800,000) she was awarded, but that the prize is exempt under local law.

Ms Ebadi, the first Muslim women to be awarded a Nobel prize, has been away from Iran since travelling to Spain for a conference the day before the 12 June election.

The result of the election, in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected, saw thousands of people protesting for several days, with hundreds arrested.

Ms Ebadi said she had “received many threatening messages” since leaving Iran.

“They said they would detain me if I returned, or that they would make the environment unsafe for me wherever I am,” she said, adding that her colleagues still in the country had also been “detained or banned from travelling abroad”.

But Ms Ebadi said she would not let anyone prevent her from carrying out her “legal activities” and would eventually go back to Iran.

“I will return whenever it is useful for my country,” she said.

‘Unheard of’

Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, a spokesman for Ms Ebadi’s human rights group, said the prize money had been used “to help prisoners of conscience and their families”.

“The account has been blocked by the officials and they do not allow withdrawals,” the AFP news agency quoted the lawyer as saying.

Mr Dadkhah said both the blocking of the account and the confiscation of the award were illegal under Iranian law and that the move was “politicised”.

In Norway, where a committee chooses the annual recipient for the peace prize, Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said: “Such an act leaves us feeling shock and disbelief.”

The ministry summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires to protest about the confiscation.

The Norwegian ministry said it was also concerned about the alleged beating of Ms Ebadi’s husband in Tehran, with Mr Stoere saying the “persecution of Dr Ebadi and her family shows that freedom of expression is under great pressure in Iran”.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee’s permanent secretary, Geir Lundestad, said the move was “unheard of” and “unacceptable”, Associated Press reported.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/8382008.stm

Published: 2009/11/27 10:02:21 GMT

Link posted at 06:52

05/11/2009

» On Israel, Congress Tolerates Abuse | Human Rights Watch

Yesterday the US Congress gravely insulted hundreds of civilians who were wounded or killed in the most recent war in the Middle East.

Link posted at 11:35

04/11/2009

» Clashes in Iran on Embassy Takeover Anniversary - NYTimes.com

Iran’s beleaguered opposition movement struggled to reassert itself on Wednesday, as tens of thousands of protesters braved police beatings and clouds of tear gas on the sidelines of a major, government-sponsored anti-American rally.

Link posted at 17:51

Hamid Dabashi’s Official Web Site

Video posted at 17:34

» Commentary: Why Obama deserves the prize

NEW YORK (CNN) — President Obama woke up today with the once-in-a-lifetime news that he won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. The joy and pride of this early morning news must have matched, if not surpassed, that other piece of news he received the evening of November 4, 2008, when he won the presidency of the United States.

Link posted at 17:33

» AFP: Police fire teargas at opposition protest in Tehran

TEHRAN — Iranian police fired teargas during clashes with opposition supporters trying to stage a demonstration in central Tehran on Wednesday and made several arrests, witnesses said.

The clashes took place in central Tehran’s Haft-e-Tir square where groups of opposition supporters had gathered for a protest, even as thousands of Iranians were staging an anti-American rally outside the closed US embassy to mark the 30th anniversary of the storming of the compound by Islamist students.

Witnesses said police beat the opposition supporters in a bid to break up the rally but the crowd of several hundred refused to move.

Opposition supporters have since June been staging protests in Tehran against the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a presidential they claim was massively rigged.

Protesters on Wednesday chanted “Death to the dictator” while a pro-government group which had also gathered at the square chanted “Death to America.”

The June 12 re-election of Ahmadinejad triggered the worst political crisis in the 30-year history of the Islamic republic.

Link posted at 03:06

26/10/2009

» BBC NEWS | Middle East | Israel 'cuts Palestinian water'

Israel is denying Palestinians access to even the basic minimum of clean, safe water, Amnesty International says.

Link posted at 22:02

25/10/2009

saharsblog:

think4yourself:

(via the-burrow)

Yeah, just about.

Photo posted at 14:20

22/10/2009

» BBC NEWS | Middle East | Dye-job donkeys wow Gaza children

Touching video. Israel has placed a ban on imports of animals into the occupied territories. Gazan zoos have gotten around this ban by partially dyeing two donkeys to look like Zebras. This video shows the excitement of the Palestinian Children.

Link posted at 16:02

The Birdmen - 60 Minutes - CBS News

If you think Skydiving is badass, or stupidly dangerous, or ridiculously fun…then check this out.

I can only dream to be qualified enough to do this some day.

Video posted at 15:42