As massive arrests still continue in Iran following the wide and violent protests after the commemoration of Ashura on Sunday, Nooshin Ebadi, the sister of Peace Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi who had been threatened with arrest should she not cut off her ties with her sister, was arrested on Monday by agents from the ministry of intelligence. Shirin Ebadi spoke with Rooz about the growing and daily pressures on her and her family members. Here are the details.
Rooz: What eventually led to the arrest of your sister? Had agents bothered her before the arrest?
Shirin Ebadi (Ebadi): Unfortunately the ministry of intelligence has been creating problems for my family members, particularly my sister and husband and has threatened them with the goal of stopping my human rights activities. My family members have in turn made it clear to them that Shirin Ebadi would do whatever she believes in and that her activities have nothing to do with them. But the intelligence minister approached my sister several times and summoned her to the ministry. On one occasion its agents told my sister to change her residence which is located in the same building as mine so that she was not near me. Obviously my sister would ignore such a request. They specifically told her that she had to stop communicating with me. This is despite the fact that my sister does not have my telephone number which is because I do not have a permanent telephone number as I am constantly traveling from one place to another. I used to call her once or twice every month to ask how she was doing. But the intelligence ministry had told her that even this level of contact had to stop. She of in turn asked them how they expected her to tell me that she did not have the right to call me. Finally they threatened that they would arrest her if she continued with her ways.
Rooz: Did you think this threat would be executed?
Ebadi: At first I thought they were simply bluffing. But unfortunately it is clear that the intelligence ministry agents were serious because a day after Ashura, on Monday, at 9 o’clock four officers of the intelligence ministry, one of whom was my sister’s earlier interrogator who had threatened her, went to her house and after fully searching her house, arrested my sister and took her and her son’s computer with them. Neither I nor my other family members know where she is being detained.
Rooz: Did your sister ever engage in any political activities? For example did she participate in the recent demonstration or was this arrest simply because of her family ties to you and the issues that you just raised?
Ebadi: My sister is a dentist. Fortunately or unfortunately she has never participated in my human rights activities. She did not and does not participate even in our social events. Being a university lecturer she is engaged only in her work. Her arrest is with the goal of applying pressure on me. Some time back the intelligence ministry froze my bank accounts and my retirement pension, while I continue my work. They also froze my husband’s bank account, but I still continue my work. So now they have taken my sister hostage with the hope that I will stop doing my work.
Rooz: What actions to you plan to take regarding your sister? Is there a threat that they may arrest your husband too?
Ebadi: I will use every legal channel that is available. Since my husband has been threatened with arrest, he has already hired a lawyer. He is banned from leaving the country even though he is an engineer and has not participated in any of my activities. I hope the Iranian government is not tempted to arrest him as well. The important point is that these tactics are a new method of applying pressure on those who work to defend human rights and so they are not limited to me. A good number of human rights activists and their relatives are under pressure from the intelligence ministry to stop their work and activities.
