It probably won't have escaped your notice that Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian human rights lawyer, has won the Nobel Peace Prize.

It's an excellent choice -- and I certainly breathed a sigh of relief when it was announced that she, rather than a certain religious leader, had taken the prize.

Tehran's finest, Jim Muir, assesses Ms Ebadi's selection in this article.

Tellingly, Jim says that "Hours after the news was making headlines around the world, it still had not been reported by Iran's state-run TV, radio or news agency."

That very fact makes Shirin Ebadi's award all the more important.