Nasrin Sotoudeh, Iranian Human Rights Lawyer, Freed After Six-Week Hunger Strike
Nasrin Sotoudeh, Iranian Human Rights Lawyer, Freed After Six-Week Hunger Strike
In a huge victory, Iranian women’s rights attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh—unfairly jailed two years ago on spying and propaganda charges—has been temporarily released from Qarchak prison on medical leave. She is now home with her husband, Reza Khandan, as her family seeks urgent medical care.
Sotoudeh’s release is due in large part to international pressure from the tireless efforts of activists and human rights groups.
One such activist is Jeff Kaufman, a documentary filmmaker behind the film “Nasrin.” On Wednesday, Oct. 28, Kaufman—joined by Mansoureh Shojaee, initiator of the “One Million Signatures” campaign, and film producer Marcia Ross—gave the following speech to the European Parliament to raise awareness about the incredible activism of Iranian women’s rights attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh:
We thank the European Parliament for this opportunity to show scenes from our documentary “Nasrin,” to discuss the global importance of Nasrin Sotoudeh’s work, and to call for Nasrin’s immediate release from prison.
The European Parliament has a long and admirable record of calling for human rights in all nations, and of supporting human rights defenders. A commitment to “liberty, democracy and respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law” is one the founding principles of the European Union.
Nasrin Sotoudeh is serving a decades-long prison sentence for championing those very values. A United Nations investigatory panel stated:
“The evidence suggests Ms. Sotoudeh’s imprisonment, both now and in the past, is State retaliation for her tireless work defending human rights.”
Nasrin’s advocacy for the rights of women, children, religious minorities, journalists, artists, political prisoners and those facing the death penalty has brought her international acclaim. She has recently been honored with The Right Livelihood Award and The German Judges Association Human Rights Prize. Millions of people around the world have signed petitions calling for her release.
In August, Nasrin ended a 46-day hunger strike that brought global attention to the high risk of COVID-19 in Iranian prisons. In reprisal, her daughter was summoned to court and threatened with detention, and Nasrin was transferred to the more remote Qarchak Prison.
Read more at: Ms Magazine
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