Amid the clutter of calls for a revamped response to the Iranian presidential elections, Shirin Ebadi defends the constitutional right to public protest and appeals for protection, not violence.

----

Pressenza, Geneva, 2009-06-24

Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian lawyer who won the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize, has urged her government, the Islamic Republic of Iran, to release the mass of people arrested following the protests in the aftermath of the country's presidential elections. The safety of protesters is the responsibility of security forces, she reminded.

The human rights activist was speaking at a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, and on the interview by Aljazeera, Ebadi spoke out for new elections to be held under internationally recognised institutions, including the United Nations, to calm the nation.

Ebadi insisted that peaceful demonstrations are allowable within the constitution and are lawful and should not be subject to violent suppression as happening in Tehran following the presidential elections.

She also stated that the killing of "Nedi" - the woman caught on mobile phone video immediately after she was shot by a non-uniformed person - needs to be investigated by the police. The killing took place at a time when both uniformed and non-uniformed security forces were actively and violently beating protesters and by association, bystanders. She was killed on spot, in the street, far from any protest.

In Shirin Ebadi's view the elections need to be annulled and re-run, not least because the Council of Guardians has admitted publicly that there were more votes than voters in many towns.

Journalist and Chairman of the Humanist Association of Hong Kong. Tony Henderson is a freelance writer working in Hong Kong, since 1980, and previously Japan, for seven years following two years in Mauritius after a year in Libya.

PRESSENZA