Watchdog

Iran's Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi has denied in an exclusive interview with RFE/RL's Radio Farda that her daughter has converted from Islam and become a Baha'i, which is outlawed in Iran.

According to Islamic law as applied in Iran, conversion from Islam is regarded as apostasy and can be punished by death.

Ebadi said that she believes the smear campaign against her in Iran's state-controlled media has been launched to discourage her from presenting the case of seven Baha'is who have been jailed in Iran on security charges.

Ebadi said she and her family are proud Shi'a, and that the campaign against her would not stop her from defending the Baha'is and doing her job as a human rights lawyer. Ebadi has been in the past threatened with death on a number of occasions.

Sazak Durdymuradov, a 59-year-old history teacher, was reinstated as a teacher at his school in Baharden, outside Ashgabat. He was dismissed from his position in June 20 after he was detained and confined to a psychiatric clinic for his work with RFE/RL. He spent two weeks in the remote clinic before he was released on July 4.

Speaking to RFE/RL's Turkmen Service, Durdymuradov said that he had written a letter to the school administration demanding his rights and asking to be allowed to continue teaching at his school. "I believe there was no ground for my dismissal. My success is the result of our strong position in protecting our rights," he said.

Durdymuradov has since continued his contributions to the Turkmen Service's programs, participating in the "People's Voice" program about the draft constitution to be adopted by September.