The unrest in Iran is just “the beginning of a big movement” that could be more widespread than the demonstrations of 2009, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Iranian lawyer Shirin Ebadi said in an interview on Sunday.
“I think the protests are not going to end soon. It seems to me that we are witnessing the beginning of a big protest movement that can go well beyond the Green wave of 2009. It would not surprise me if it becomes something bigger,” said Ebadi to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
A third night of unrest in Iran saw mass demonstrations across the country in which two people were killed, dozens arrested and public buildings attacked.
The demonstrations are the biggest since the Green Movement protests of 2009 against the re-election of the ultra-conservative ex-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which were violently repressed.
But now the roots of anger are above all economic and social, according to Abadi, who now lives in exile in London.
“In Iran, and it is not new, there is a very serious economic crisis. The corruption in the whole country is at appalling levels. The end of certain sanctions related to the nuclear agreement with Europe and the United States in 2015 did not bring real benefits to the population, contrary to what many expected,” the lawyer said.
“Added to this is the fact that Iran has very high military expenditures. People are not willing to see so much money spent on it,” she added.
“Young people are the most disappointed,” Ebadi said, referring to the high unemployment, corruption and “the climate of censorship”.
“The economic situation and the frightening gap between the rich and the poor, between those who enjoy well-being and those who cannot, are at the root of the protest,” the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize-winner said.

Iran unrest ‘start of a big movement’, says Nobel Peace Prize-winner Ebadi

Nobel Peace prize laureate Shirin Ebadi of Iran. (File photo: Reuters)
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English
Sunday 31 December 2017
Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:50 - GMT 06:50
DAY | WEEK |
-
6660 Views Coronavirus: Dubai suspends live entertainment permits as COVID-19 cases surge
-
2890 Views At least 32 killed, 110 injured in two suicide bombings in Iraq's Baghdad
-
1763 Views Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia reports 212 COVID-19 cases
-
1233 Views Photo of ‘Cold Bernie’ Sanders at US inauguration goes viral with memes
-
927 Views Nursing home fire kills at least 15 in Ukraine
-
722 Views US President Joe Biden proposes five-year extension of nuclear treaty with Russia
-
21320 Views Coronavirus: Doctor in Saudi Arabia leaves hospital after battling virus for 139 days
-
18790 Views Coronavirus: Number of new UAE COVID-19 cases reaches record high
-
16608 Views Airstrikes pound Iran-backed militias south of Iraq’s Baghdad: Reports
-
10175 Views Coronavirus: Dubai orders hospitals to cancel surgeries amid surge in COVID-19 cases
-
7674 Views Dubai to test launch iconic London Taxi vehicles using hybrid cabs
-
6660 Views Coronavirus: Dubai suspends live entertainment permits as COVID-19 cases surge
SHOW MORE