Abdol-Karim Lahiji, the president of the Paris-based International Federation of Human Rights Leagues spoke with Rooz in detail about the extensive charges that have been recently raised against Nobel Peace prize laureate Shirin Ebadi and her family in the pro-government Iranian media and Keyhan newspaper. Read on for the details.
Rooz (R): Over the past few days, pro-government media in Iran have engaged in unusually stern accusations against Ms Shirin Ebadi. What do you think is behind these charges?
Abdol-Karim Lahiji (AKL): We are now concerned about Shirin Ebadi’s life. This is because the tactics that are used against her (by the state) are very similar to those that were exercised by government groups that led to what is known as the serial killers of Iranian intellectuals in the 1990s. When they make a claim that Ebadi’s daughter has changed her religion, that she herself is in association with the Bahai sect - which has been denounced by the state – that she challenges Islamic law, defends the rights of gays and lesbians, defends American spies, etc, these constitute a foundation on which they can then conclude that she has rejected her religion while enjoying a political alliance with the enemies of the state, and thus concluding that she must be removed. So they are labeling her with characteristics that were trumped up against the victims of the serial killings so that agents of the ministry of intelligence can move in and murder them. These accusations prepare the groundwork for such events. Particularly as those responsible for these accusations are the same individuals that perpetrated the serial killings ten years ago, which were led by the ministry of intelligence and their henchmen in the media that is associated to the ministry. Individuals such as Hossein Shariatmadari (the current managing editor of Keyhan newspaper who is directly appointed by the leader of Iran) whose close friend and associate is the minister of culture, Saffar Herandi, which oversees the work of the media and the press in Iran.
R: Have you done anything to reduce these concerns?
AKL: We are very seriously concerned which is why in addition to requesting that the European Union, UN’s Human Rights Commissioner, and the special human rights reporters advocates get in contact with the Islamic regime in Tehran in the next few days, we have also asked that investigative teams be sent to Iran to ensure Ms Ebadi’s safety and security.
R: What is the source of this fear about the life of Ms Ebadi and the Center for the Defense of Human Rights? What are the key accusations against her?
AKL: In the absence of an opposition that can challenge the state, fortunately there is the civil society in Iran that fights for human rights and social freedoms, led by the Center for the Defense of Human Rights. We witnessed how active civil society was when Iran’s independence and security were threatened. It engaged in extraordinary deeds, which displeased the extremists in the country. Another example of such displeasure was when a public gathering was called on by the Center and all political and social groups were invited to participate in a discussion o the new Family Protection Bill that is in the Majlis. A day after the event, the state IRNA news agency published a report titled “Feministic Commotion Chauvinism” against the opponents of bill. The attacks on Shirin Ebadi began right after that. Keyhan newspaper jumps on the bandwagon a day after the IRNA story, to accomplish its mission. This state-run newspaper published a “Special Report” titled “The Praise of Shirin Ebadi by the Israeli Bahai Center. The article claims that the Bahai Center has sent a letter to Ebadi in appreciation of her efforts to organize a conference on the Rights to Education, and also expressing praise for the conference itself. IRNA’s role in the scheme becomes clearer with the next story it carries in which it claims that Ebadi’s daughter has become a Bahai, which the Nobel laureate vehemently denies and calls the reports garbage and slander. Last Friday, IRNA published a detailed 4-page piece signed by an unknown person titled “Trapped in the Bahai Net”, which goes beyond smear and slander against Shirin Ebadi, her daughter and the Center for the Defense of Human Rights, and attributes completely false statements to the head of the Nobel Peace Committee. When you look at the story and the quote this is what you see. The story writes the following on the 5-member Peace Committee’s statement: “Part of this statement lauds Shirin Ebadi’s defense and support of Bahaism.” (One wonders what is the source of this report and why the original statement is withheld from public view.)
R: What is the nature of these accusations? Does Ms Ebadi plan to challenge and formally lodge a protest against them?
AKL: They have openly accused Shirin Ebadi’s daughter of joining the Bahai sect. Why? It is because she is writing her dissertation in Canada’s McGill University. This story by IRNA accuses of McGill to be a key Bahai center. The reasoning it provides is that because Mr. Payam Akhavan is a faculty member of the law school, Ebadi’s daughter must have joined Bahaism! Because Shirin Ebadi has a power of attorney from her daughter, she intends to sue the writer of the article. In addition, the Center for the Defense of Human Rights intends to legally pursue the issue as well because it too has been accused of being affiliated to Bahaism. It is clear that these are crimes of slander and defamation even by Islamic legal standards and carry criminal penalties. Ms Ebadi and the Center will file their suit in the coming days, even though the Judiciary of the Islamic regime and Tehran’s prosecutor’s office, lead by Saeed Mortezavi, have shown through the many cases in which Shirin Ebadi has been present that one cannot expect justice to be served from this judiciary.
