In a further crackdown on dissidents, the Iranian authorities have arrested the sister of Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi.

In a statement on the Rahasabz opposition website, Shirin Ebadi wrote, "my sister, Dr Nooshin Ebadi was arrested at 9 PM on December 28 by four intelligence agents at her home and sent to prison". The noble laureate does not know why her sister was arrested.
 

Other reports say that three journalists and a women's rights activist were also arrested. In recent days, the Iranian authorities have cracked down hard on opposition activists and hundreds of people have been arrested.
 

Shirin Ebadi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for her work on human rights in Iran. She has frequently been at odds with the Iranian authorities. Last month, it was announced that Tehran had seized her Nobel award. It was later returned.