Three days after its closure following a police raid, a recent report indicated that Iranian authorities yielded to international pressure and will allowing the reopening of Human Rights Defenders Center, an NGO led by Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi. From AKI:

The Iranian government has allowed Nobel Peace Prize laureate and activist Shirin Ebadi to re-open her office in Tehran, after yielding to international pressure from the European Union and the United States. Ebadi’s office was shut down on 21 December by the Tehran’s prosecutor’s office for lacking the proper legal permits. However, the government said the office of the Defenders of Human Rights Centre would re-open after the proper permits were obtained.

The Presidency of the European Union, headed by France, condemned Iran on Monday for closing Ebadi’s office and called for the centre to be reopened. The United States also condemned Iran’s move.

Iranian lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ebadi (photo) and her organisation have repeatedly criticised the rising number of executions in Iran as well as the country’s human rights records.