Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Ragnhild Imerslund said Thursday that someone had informed Norwegian authorities that the medal was seized ‘within the last week or so’ along with Ebadi’s personal effects from a safe-deposit box in Iran. She wouldn’t name the source of the information.

Ebadi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for promoting democracy and human rights in Iran. The prize is awarded by a Norwegian committee.

Imerslund says the Foreign Ministry called in Iran’s charge d’affaires in Norway Wednesday to protest the confiscation.

The Iranian embassy in Norway refrained from giving a comment.