Iranian Sues US for Blocking Memoir Publishing

Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, praised by President George W. Bush and honored at universities for her work on behalf of democracy and human rights, is suing the U.S. government for standing in the way of the publishing of her memoirs.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Richard Casey agreed to add the lawsuit she filed in Manhattan last week to litigation brought in September by publishing groups that allege they have had to suspend writing projects for the same reason Ebadi is stalled.

Ebadi is a Muslim lawyer who was awarded the Nobel prize last year. Her lawsuit alleges the publication of her memoirs would be blocked in the United States by Treasury Department regulations preventing publishing activities that involve works by authors in countries such as Iran, Cuba, and Sudan.

~ from newsday.com