Iran’s Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, who is also a critic of the country’s ruling administration and as an attorney has recently taken steps to create a national Peace Council to mobilize efforts to prevent a military war in Iran, talked to Rooz about the “no war, no peace” situation Iran. She expressed her fears that right-wing state-run Kayhan newspaper and the state run news agency IRNA were laying the groundwork for her assassination. Read on for the interview.
Rooz (R): Let’s begin with the Peace Council: How did it begin and what is its purpose?
Shirin Ebadi (SE): At the outset I want to stress that the creation of the council is not separate or independent of my other activities. It is in line with my record and previous work. I am a human rights activist and the recipient of the Nobel Peace prize. The definition of peace dates back to two centuries which is defined as a “no war” situation. Today, however, peace is defined differently and it means the presence of a combination of conditions that allow a person to freely and without fear or threat live his life in human dignity. In this new definition, human rights and continuous growth are part of peace. In other words, peace and human rights are each and together the necessary conditions.
R: What was the necessity for creating this council?
SE: It is now for some time that the condition of “no war, no peace” has dominated Iran. This means that while we are not at actual war with anyone, people are not exactly living in conditions of peace. In this council, people from different strata have come together and our slogan is this: No to war, yes to peace and human rights. We shall be working to attain this goal and continuous growth and development in Iran.
R: How was the council formed?
SE: It was created on my invitation at the Center for the Defense of Human Rights (Kanoon Modafeane Hoghooge Bashar). I am a founder of this council and a member, but I am not a member of the executive board.
R: What is the reason that your name was not on the list of the council as it was published in the media?
SE: This is because the executive board is the group that must hold regular meetings and thus put time into discussing the issues. Because of my pre-engagements in Iran and outside, I do not think I can be effective at the executive board. Still, I am at the service of my countrymen.
R: There were accusations flouted by the state media in Iran against the council ..
SE: While denying all the false reports, I have also submitted a legal suit against Kayhan, Iran and a number of other newspapers for publishing lies. I hope that Tehran’s judiciary will show its independence by looking into the matter.
R: What do you believe are the reasons for these attacks?
SE: the reasons are very clear. Those who use state funds and media resources against me and publish these false news disagree with my views and actions. My record is clear. For the last 15 years I have been defending cases involving political and ideological issues. As an example I can cite the case of Zahra Bani Yaghoob, Zahra Kazemi, those involving the serial murders (murders that were committed by Iran’s intelligence apparatus in the late 1990s), Ezat Ebrahimnejad (the victim of the Tehran University unrest), etc. Those who disagree with my work and the principles that I stand for will use any method to engage in character assassination against me and thus prepare the groundwork for my physical assassination and removal. There are provisions in the Islamic penal code that facilitate such murder. Para 2 of Article 295 of the code says that if a person deserves to be killed, and can be proven so, then the perpetrators are treated leniently and only have to pay blood money to the victim’s family.
R: Do they intend to kill you?
SE: Yes. By spreading such rumors that I have changed my religion (whose punishment by the standards of religious extremists is death), that I work with the enemy, that I am a CIA agent, etc, they are providing their supporters the excuse to engage in my physical elimination and assassination. Specifically, they are invoking article 295 of the Islamic penal code which had been used in the past assassinations (including the attempt on Saeed Hajjarian’s life). (Saeed Hajjarian was a reformist cleric holding a public office in the 1990s.)
