U.S. condemns actions against Ebadi

TEHRAN, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- The United States condemns harassment of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shrin Ebadi at her home and offices in Iran, the U.S. State Department said Friday.

Iranian authorities raided her law office, seizing computers and confidential client files Monday, and protesters chanted death threats at her home Thursday, said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

"These events are part of an increasingly hostile campaign of harassment against human rights activists inside Iran," McCormack said in a statement. "We urge the Iranian authorities to allow human rights activists and civil society organizations to operate free of oppression."

In a statement, Ebadi's Center for the Defenders of Human Rights said the protesters spray-painted graffiti and chanted "Ebadi supports Israel's murders." The demonstration was broken up by police.