DATE=10/24/2003

TYPE=ON THE LINE SHORT

NUMBER=1-01415

TITLE=HUMAN RIGHTS IN IRAN

INTERNET=Yes

EDITOR=OFFICE OF POLICY 619-0038

CONTENT= INSERTS IN DALET

Voice: This is On the Line and I'm _____________. The winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize is Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian human rights activist. Ms. Ebadi was one of Iran's first woman judges, but she was forced off the bench after the 1979 Islamic revolution. Since then, she has campaigned against the harsh rule of Iran's extremist clerics.

ACT ONE SHIRIN EBADI (TRANSLATED) :11

"This prize does not belong to me. It belongs to all the Iranian people and all the people who are trying to improve human rights, democracy and peace in Iran."

Voice: Over the years, Shirin Ebadi has been arrested and imprisoned by Iranian authorities.

ACT TWO AHMAD SADRI :05

"Shirin Ebadi, unlike the rest of us exiles, chose to stay in Iran."

Voice: This is Ahmad Sadri, a professor of sociology and anthropology at Lake Forest College in Illinois:

ACT THREE AHMAD SADRI :17

"She could have left and come to the West and denounced the Islamic Republic from the safety of exile. She is a heroine because she didn't. She stayed in Iran. She fought for the rights of women, children, and those who are particularly marginalized."

Voice: Meranghiz Kar is an Iranian attorney, writer, and activist who was sentenced to prison by the Iranian regime. She says that Shirin Ebadi defended her and other human rights proponents in Iranian courts.

ACT FOUR MERANGHIZ KAR :43

"She was really taking risks for these cases and she was very brave and she would go into court. Sometimes they didn't give permission to her, like my case. When I was in prison [in Iran], I signed a contract with Shirin Ebadi for her to defend me, but the judge didn't give permission to her to be with me during the trial. So in very dangerous situations, she works for political prisoners."

Voice: Patrick Clawson is deputy director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He says that the Nobel committee's decision to award the Peace Prize to Shirin Ebadi has an impact on Iran's democracy movement:

ACT FIVE PATRICK CLAWSON :27

"The democracy movement had been a bit dispirited by a sense that the hard-liners were blocking their progress on many different fronts. And this prize has shown the depth of support that this movement enjoys in the international community and therefore has given something of a shot in the arm [encouragement] to people who were wondering just how possible was it going to be to bring about the change that clearly the people of Iran want?"

Voice: As the committee that awarded Shirin Ebadi the Nobel Peace Prize put it, "We hope the prize will be an inspiration for all those who struggle for human rights and democracy in Iran."

For On the Line, I'm ________________.