[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 21, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E117]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             AMERICA MUST STAND WITH HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 21, 2009

  Mr. WOLF. Madam Speaker, I would like to share with our colleagues an 
editorial in the New York Times highlighting the case of Iranian human 
rights activist, and Nobel Prize laureate, Shirin Ebadi, who faces 
harassment and intimidation at the hands of the Iranian government.
  She is not alone.
  According to the most recent State Department Human Rights Report, 
``[Iran's] poor human rights record worsened, and it continued to 
commit numerous, serious abuses . . . Security forces arbitrarily 
arrested and detained individuals and held political prisoners and 
women's rights activists. There was a lack of judicial independence and 
of fair public trials. The government severely restricted civil 
liberties, including freedoms of speech, press, assembly, association, 
movement, and privacy. The government placed severe restrictions on 
freedom of religion. Official corruption and a lack of government 
transparency persisted.''
  We must continue to stand with human rights defenders like Shirin 
Ebadi, who is bravely confronting her own government's injustices.

               [From the New York Times, January 2, 2009]

                       The Woman the Mullahs Fear

                              (Editorial)

       Men hold all of the meaningful levers of political power in 
     Iran, but it is a woman they fear. If not, why is the mullah-
     led government trying to shut down the operations of Shirin 
     Ebadi?
       Ms. Ebadi, a lawyer and her country's leading human rights 
     activist, is the first Muslim woman to win a Nobel Peace 
     Prize. On Monday, the authorities stormed her private office, 
     seizing her computers and her clients' documents. A week 
     earlier, they closed her Center for Defenders of Human 
     Rights, a coalition of human rights groups and other 
     activists whose members had planned to celebrate the 60th 
     anniversary of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of 
     Human Rights.
       When she was awarded the peace prize in 2003, the Nobel 
     committee called Ms. Ebadi ``a courageous person'' for 
     standing up against Iran's bullying government. In the years 
     since, she has endured repeated death threats from radical 
     groups and regular government intimidation. That courage has 
     never faltered.
       With presidential elections scheduled for June, President 
     Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his allies apparently decided they 
     could not risk letting Ms. Ebadi continue the work she has 
     done with distinction (and without pay) for the past 15 
     years--exposing government violations of human rights and 
     defending human rights and democracy activists.
       No doubt the authorities were unhappy with a report 
     produced by her center that was cited recently by the United 
     Nations' secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, when the General 
     Assembly approved a nonbinding resolution condemning Iran's 
     human rights record. But we suspect their ambitions go far 
     beyond trying to suppress one report. They are clearly hoping 
     to intimidate Ms. Ebadi and all other independent voices in 
     Iran. That must not be allowed to happen.
       We condemn Tehran's mistreatment of this woman of 
     extraordinary honor and courage. We urge the United States, 
     Europe and other major powers to keep pressure on Iran to 
     ensure that no further harm comes to Ms. Ebadi and that she 
     remains free to do her essential work.
       If Tehran wants relief from international criticism about 
     its human rights record, it must start by adhering to the 
     Universal Declaration of Human Rights and respecting the 
     rights of all of its citizens.

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