Iran's Ebadi Denies Daughter Became Baha'i

Iran -- Ebadi, Shirin

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.