Iran's official government news agency (IRNA) accused Shirin Ebadi and her daughter, who is a university student at Canada’s McGill University, of belonging to the Bahai religious sect. Regardless of other accusations that have also been aired, the news agency report is worrisome and demonstrates a threatening net cast in Shirin Ebadi's path. It seems that those behind the story want to puncture the protective umbrella that the 2003 Nobel Peace prize brought for Ebadi. To show the importance of the issue, I will cite several legal articles and addendums.
According to Article 226 of the Islamic Penal Code, "Murder of any person is subject to 'Ghesas' [retaliated punishment] only if the victim did not deserve death based on the Sharia, and if the victim deserved death the murderer must prove that in court, according to set criteria."
Who does not know that a Muslim's conversion to Bahaism is enough to make him or her deserve death (according to this standard) and who does not know that Iran's penal laws are so favorable to murderers that they essentially do not regard victims to be significant.
Addendum 2 of Section (J) of Article 295 of the Islamic Penal Code sets forth that if a person murders another on suspicion that the victim was deserving of death and the accusation is proven in court, and later it turns out that the victim was not really deserving of death, the murder is treated as a crime that took place accidentally and so the murderer only has to pay blood money to the victim's family. If the murderer can prove his claim that the victim was deserving of death, he has to neither pay blood money nor face punishment.
In light of such laws, it is obvious that they are setting the stage for Shirin Ebadi's elimination. The characteristics of the scenario they have written could be such:
1 - They want to convince ignorant forces that Shirin Ebadi's death is necessary. Any Muslim who takes her life is not punished, and perhaps goes to heaven.
2 - They want to frighten her to abandon all human rights-related activities or even leave the country.
It is necessary that intellectuals and human rights activists do whatever in their power to sabotage this scenario. Reformist clerics have the responsibility to take the issue seriously and convince those who are subject to violent messages that such accusations and publication of lies are against Islamic principles and no false accusation must be accepted as true.
