TEHERAN — Iranian human rights lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi has complained of again being summoned to court, as well as subjected to death threats, the student news agency Isna reported yesterday. "I have been summoned for trial on February 23, without knowing what the new charge is and what will be the fate of this case," she was quoted as writing to reformist President Mohammad Khatami.Ebadi was also said to have told Khatami she had been subjected to a string of death threats, and the culprits had been arrested and jailed but recently released. She also said her home had suffered several attempted break-ins. In addition, Ebadi complained that the judiciary were refusing to return her house deeds, posted as bail in a case that dates back more than five years.
Ebadi also wrote to Khatami to protest what she said were attempts during the past two months by unidentified people — trying to pass themsleves off as police — to raid her offices and arrest her staff members. According to Ebadi, "people are trying to hinder my activities."
| That's why they call it a police state. |
But Iran's hardline Iran's judiciary later said the summons had been a mistake caused by a bureaucratic mix-up and insisted Ebadi was not being pursued. The judiciary said that summons concerned a private complaint of "insult".