The Iran-based Defenders of Human Rights Center has claimed in a  statement that the Tehran  home of Nobel Peace Prize-winner Shirin Ebadi has been vandalized.

According to the group, of which Ebadi is a founder, 150 protesters showed up outside her home on January 1 and started chanting that she supports the slaughter in Gaza. Then, they defaced a sign and began kicking in the door of her building.

The Defenders of Human Rights Center stated that Ebadi has repeatedly said she opposes the murder of Palestinians in Gaza. The demonstration outside her home was dispersed after police arrived.

Ebadi, one of the world’s leading human-rights activists, is author of the 2006 book Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003  for her relentless campaigns and legal work to advance equal rights for women.

Last February, she was the keynote speaker at a fundraising event in Vancouver for West Coast Legal Education and Action Fund.

She also acted on behalf of the family of Zara Kazemi, a Canadian photojournalist who died under mysterious circumstances  in 2003 while in the custody of Iranian security officials.

Today’s protest outside Ebadi’s home appears to be part of an escalating campaign against her. On December 21, Iranian security agents shut down the Tehran office of the Defenders of Human Rights Centre.

On December 29, agents visited Ebadi’s law office and seized computers and case files.

The following day, Canada’s foreign affairs minister, Lawrence Cannon, issued a statement condemning this action.

“Canada continues to urge Iran to fully respect all of its human rights obligations, both in law and in practice, and to end the apparent targeting of human rights advocates like Ms. Ebadi,” Cannon said. “Canada stands in solidarity with individuals such as Ms. Ebadi who courageously advocate for the human rights of the people of Iran.”