Activist: Iranian crackdown will backfire

LONDON, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- An Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner says Iranian efforts to crack down on anti-government protests will only bolster the will of the opposition.

"The heavier the crackdown, the more determined people will be to protest, as events in the past have shown. The higher levels of crackdown have radicalized the people," lawyer and human rights activist Shirin Ebadi said.

Ebadi spoke from a secret location in England to preserve her security. She has been in the United Kingdom since leaving Tehran for a speaking engagement in Spain the day before the June presidential elections which kicked off the violent protests, CNN said Monday.

Ebadi addressed sanctions on Iran's nuclear program, saying they inflict no damage on the Islamic regime but "only increase the nationalistic sentiments of the Iranian people," she warned. She said sanctions should "target issues that impact the government and not those that affect the people."

The activist said a week ago the home in Iran she shares with her sister was searched before both the sister and a computer were seized.

"Not only does my sister not do any human rights work, she doesn't do any cultural work either. They only took her because of me," Ebadi said.