Iran shuts office of human rights group
Nobel laureate's center accused of propaganda
TEHRAN - Iranian authorities yesterday closed the office of the country's main human rights organization, led by Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi.
Dozens of plainclothes detectives along with local police officers entered the Center for Defenders of Human Rights in Tehran and shut it down hours before a ceremony was to take place commemorating the 60th anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights.
According to members of the organization, which has been active since 2000, the police had been informed beforehand of the meeting, at which political activists were scheduled to speak.
"The general human rights activities of this nongovernmental organization are the reason for this illegal reaction," the center's leadership said in a statement. Center officials speculated that the closure was in part a response to a United Nations resolution issued last Thursday that expressed "deep concern" about the human rights situation in Iran.
Iran has been protesting for months against the resolution, which was first put forward by Canada. In October, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon issued a special human rights report that called upon Iran to address concerns such as "amputations and corporal punishment."
Ebadi's organization assisted the UN 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 said.
An interior ministry commission, which gives permits for political organizations, said the center was carrying out illegal activities such as publishing statements, writing letters to international organizations, and holding press conferences, the semiofficial press agency Mehr News reported.
The commission, according to the agency, accused Ebadi's center of distributing propaganda against the state. The report also cited repeated warnings delivered to the center, and said the building had been sealed on the orders of Tehran's top prosecutor.
In a telephone interview, Ebadi called the closure "illegal" and "unacceptable." Ebadi vowed to reopen the center, saying that "the police actions are against the law."
Ebadi acknowledged that the Center for Defenders of Human Rights did not have a permit to operate, but said that legalization of the organization had been blocked by the authorities.
Since its founding, the organization has taken on 5,000 pro bono cases defending politically active women, journalists, and students, said Nargess Mohammadi, a spokesperson for the center.
Yesterday, guests were still arriving for the ceremony when Ebadi and her colleagues were escorted out of the building by police officers.
They had refused to leave their offices for more than an hour.
"This was supposed to be one of the few happy events for activists in Iran," said Asieh Amini, a journalist who focuses on human rights issues. 