Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi has appealed to the international community not to turn a blind eye to human rights violations in Iran, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports.
Ebadi was speaking to Radio Farda on the sidelines of the European Forum Alpbach, an annual conference that opened in Austria on August 19.
Ebadi said concern over Iran's disputed nuclear program should not eclipse the problem of human rights in that country. She also told the conference that political prisoners in Iran "are treated even worse than drug traffickers."
Ebadi also spoke of what she called "a new definition of peace" as "calmness," not merely "the absence of war."
"Although Iran is not involved in a war, people in Iran are still deprived of the blessings of real peace," Ebadi said. "Only a society that has democracy and social justice can attain calmness."
The Alpbach Forum has been held annually since the end of World War II. Last year's opening speaker was UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Ebadi was speaking to Radio Farda on the sidelines of the European Forum Alpbach, an annual conference that opened in Austria on August 19.
Ebadi said concern over Iran's disputed nuclear program should not eclipse the problem of human rights in that country. She also told the conference that political prisoners in Iran "are treated even worse than drug traffickers."
Ebadi also spoke of what she called "a new definition of peace" as "calmness," not merely "the absence of war."
"Although Iran is not involved in a war, people in Iran are still deprived of the blessings of real peace," Ebadi said. "Only a society that has democracy and social justice can attain calmness."
The Alpbach Forum has been held annually since the end of World War II. Last year's opening speaker was UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
