Iranian Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi says human rights in Iran are bad or even worse under President Hassan Rohani than they were under former President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.

Ebadi said the difference is that Ahmadinejad worked to limit human rights, while Rohani has vowed to ease restrictions of expression and eliminate discrimination against women and minorities.

But she said Rohani “can’t do much” amid stiff resistance from hardliners.

Ebadi was speaking to AP in New York, where she is campaigning for support for a UN General Assembly resolution expressing deep concern at the “serious ongoing and recurring human rights violations” in Iran.

Rohani, elected last year on promises of greater openness and diplomatic engagement with the West, has faced opposition from hard-line conservatives in the Muslim country whose supreme leader is an Islamic cleric.

Based on reporting by AP
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