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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran confiscates Nobel laureate Ebadi's medal |
| 2009-11-27 |
| Iranian authorities have confiscated Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi's medal, the Norwegian government said on Thursday, accusing Iran of a shocking first in the history of the prize. Norwegian authorities were told that Ebadi's medal had been seized "within the last week or so" from a safe-deposit box in Iran along with personal effects including the diploma awarded with the medal, the Foreign Ministry said. Spokeswoman Ragnhild Imerslund would not name the source of the information but called the person reliable. She added that Norwegian authorities have been "in touch" with Ebadi since the incident. Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere called the move "shocking" and said it was "the first time a Nobel Peace Prize has been confiscated by national authorities." Imerslund said the Foreign Ministry summoned Iran's charge d'affaires in Norway on Wednesday to protest the confiscation. The Foreign Ministry also "expressed grave concern" about Ebadi's husband, who it said was arrested in Tehran and "severely beaten" earlier this fall, after which his pension and bank account were frozen. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #5 Too late Lord Garth aqua regia has been mentioned. This thread is deh over. |
| Posted by: Perry Stanford White 2009-11-27 15:00 |
| #4 She got the NB Prize in 2003 when Pope JP II was thought by some to be the front runner. Many people at the time thought the prize was awarded to her as a criticism of W's confrontation with Iraq. Her activities in Iran had little to do with peace. She was one of those "Islam is consistent with democracy and human rights" advocates who also defended some critics of the regime. However she herself was, at the time a sometimes supporter of the mullah's regime (she opposed the shah and supported the regime vigorously in its early years - she backed off after the 4th year of war with Iraq. She left Iran the day before the election and hasn't been back since. |
| Posted by: lord garth 2009-11-27 09:24 |
| #3 And she deserved the prize, Gromky. Perhaps she should have dissolved it in aqua regia the way they hid Max von Laue and James Franck's medals from the Nazis during WWII. Oh, dear, have I just violated Godwin's Law? |
| Posted by: Eric Jablow 2009-11-27 08:30 |
| #2 Shirin's a she |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-11-27 07:14 |
| #1 Just give him another one...hell they're handing them out like candy these days. |
| Posted by: gromky 2009-11-27 01:50 |