Iranian wins Dutch rights award

Shadi Safr has campaigned against stoning as a punishment

Iranian lawyer and journalist Shadi Sadr has been awarded a prestigious human rights prize in the Netherlands.

Ms Sadr received the Human Rights Tulip, worth up to US $165,000 (UK £100,000), at a ceremony in the Hague.

She has been repeatedly threatened and arrested for her work through advocacy groups and as a family lawyer.

On receiving the award, she said it was important that "human rights in Iran remain on the table of negotiations alongside the issue of nuclear energy".

She added: "All those who have ordered violation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran should be prosecuted and tried.

"Western governments can ask the UN Security Council to pursue the issue of crimes against humanity through setting up an international court for Iran."

Ms Sadr is the co-founder of the group Stop Stoning Forever and has carried out work for the Volunteer Lawyers' Network.

She was arrested during the demonstrations that followed the disputed June 2009 Iranian presidential election.

The Dutch Foreign Ministry said she had shown "extraordinary courage and determination".

She received a US $15,000 (UK £10,000) cash award and US $150,000 (UK £90,000) sponsorship for a project of her choice.