Iran's Ebadi says election may help human rights

By Fredrik Dahl

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi says Iran's human rights situation has worsened under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but that moderate rivals in this month's election offer hope for improvement.

Rights groups and Western diplomats say the Islamic Republic has stepped up a crackdown on dissenting voicing since Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005, possibly in response to Western pressure on Tehran over its disputed nuclear work.

Ebadi said the number of arrests of student, labour and women's rights activists had increased over the past four years and also that more convicted criminals were being executed, including juvenile offenders.

"The government is not prepared to respect its international commitments ... I hope that anybody who is elected would respect human rights more," Iran's most famous rights lawyer said in an interview on Wednesday.

Ebadi was speaking less than two weeks before a June 12 presidential election, in which the conservative incumbent, Ahmadinejad, faces a challenge from politicians seeking political and social change.

Iran denies it violates human rights and accuses its Western critics of hypocrisy, pointing at the U.S.-led war in Iraq and Washington's treatment of military detainees.

Although respected abroad, Ebadi's influence in Iran is seen as limited as official media does not cover her activities.

Late last year, the headquarters of Ebadi's human rights centre was closed down on the grounds it did not have a legal permit for its activities, drawing criticism from the West.