"I'm shocked. There won't be many changes in my own life, but it will be important for my work for human rights and for citizens in Iran," she told AFP by telephone from her Paris home.

Ebadi, 56, is one of Iran's most prominent human rights defenders, whose campaigning on behalf of women, children and outspoken dissidents has earned her the wrath of the Islamic republic's religious hardliners.

WAR.WIRE