The Wire

As the world focuses on Iran’s nuclear policy, Human Rights Watch has expressed concern about the domestic human rights situation. On August 3rd this year the Iranian Government announced that the Centre for the Defense of Human Rights in Iran was an illegal organisation because it had not obtained the proper permit, despite attempts by the Centre to gain the required permit since 2002. The Centre was founded by the 2003 Noble Peace Prize Winner Shirin Ebadi. Human Rights Watch researcher for Iran and the Persian Gulf Hadi Ghaemi says that the focus on Iran’s nuclear policy gives the Iranian Government the opportunity to crack down on human rights activists inside the Country and he says the situation is the worst that it has been in ten years.