Date: 6 January 2010
Source: Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID)
A wave of arrests following protests and violence taking place in Iran on Ashura (27 December 2009) has included over sixteen women journalists, women's movement and civil society activists. Among those detained is Noushin Ebadi, the sister of Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi. Harassment and targeting of women activists for arrest had already intensified prior to this new wave of mass arrests, and many remain in detention. This systematic clampdown is meant to threaten and silence not only political opposition, but all voices speaking out in support of human rights and reform.
