Accessibility links

Breaking News

Imprisoned Human Rights Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh Taken to Prison Outside Tehran


IRAN -- Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh is seen in Tehran on November 1, 2008.
IRAN -- Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh is seen in Tehran on November 1, 2008.

Judiciary officials in Iran have transferred the prominent Iranian lawyer and human rights advocate, Nasrin Sotoudeh, to a prison outside the capital city, Tehran, her husband, disclosed in a tweet on Tuesday, October 20.

Nasrin Sotoudeh's husband, Reza Khandan, tweeted, "Today, the officers of the public ward of Evin Prison called on Nasrin to get ready for being sent to the hospital. Nevertheless, after leaving prison, they transferred her directly to Qarchak prison."

According to Reza Khandan, the specialists say that the 57-year-old Nasrin Sotoudeh should have been taken to hospital for an immediate heart examination and angiography.

Nasrin Sotoudeh, who was sentenced to 33 years in prison and 148 lashes on political charges, was on a hunger strike from August 10 to September 26 to protest the plight of political prisoners. She ended the strike after reaching a life-threatening condition.

On September 22, forty-seven countries present at the UN Human Rights Council meeting demanded the release of Nasrin Sotoudeh and another award-winning human rights activist and political prisoner, Narges Mohammadi, and an end to the repeated violations of human rights in Iran.

Nagres Mohammadi was released from prison on October 8, but Nasrin Sotoudeh remains behind bars.

While in custody, Nasrin Sotoudeh was named one of the winners of an international award known as the Alternative Nobel Prize on October 1.

Sotoudeh is the first Iranian activist to win the award presented by the Right Livelihood Foundation (RLF).

As a lawyer, Sotoudeh represented human rights activists, women's rights activists, child abuse victims, and juvenile offenders on death row.

She was previously jailed from August 2010 to September 2013 for her professional and human rights activities.

French President Emmanuel Macron invited Sotoudeh to participate in a G7 council for promoting human rights in February 2019, writing to Sotoudeh, "I am pleased to invite you to this initiative to advance real equality between women and men around the world."

XS
SM
MD
LG