Nobel laureate sues

last updated 8 January 2015

New York

Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian children’s advocate who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, is suing the Bush administration for preventing her from publishing her memoirs in the U.S. A trade embargo against Iran bars Americans from providing professional services to anyone in Iran, making it illegal for Ebadi to hire American editors or translators. Rep. Howard Berman wrote a letter telling the Treasury Department that it’s “patently absurd” to apply the sanctions to Ebadi, whom President Bush once praised for her “lifetime championing of human rights and democracy.” A Treasury spokesman said the policy was necessary for national security.