Iran grants lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh leave from prison
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Jailed lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been given leave from prison in Iran ahead of the Iranian new year of Newroz, according to her husband.
“Nasrin and Noushin Jafari were released from Qarchak prison. We look forward to seeing all our imprisoned friends stay with their families before the end of the year,” Reza Khandan tweeted, referring to a journalist released alongside his wife.
Sotoudeh was arrested in June 2018 after defending a woman detained for protesting against the requirement for Iranian women to wear the hijab. She was told at the time that she had been sentenced to five years in prison. In 2019, she was sentenced again to 12 years in prison "for encouraging corruption and debauchery".
The lawyer suffers from a range of chronic health issues. In September, she had to end a 45-day hunger strike that she had launched to seek the release of prisoners amid the COVID-19 pandemic due to her deteriorating health.
Sotoudeh was granted temporary releases in October and November 2020, as well as in January 2021, all for medical reasons. She tested positive for the coronavirus shortly after her second release.
In November, United Nations human rights experts called for Sotoudeh’s release to be made permanent, calling detention "arbitrary, unlawful and disproportionate”.
“We reassert that the Iranian authorities should immediately quash her convictions, review her case consistent with international standards and ensure that she remains free during the review process," the UN experts urged.
Iran has faced international condemnation for its detention of lawyers and activists.
"Nasrin is among the hundreds of prisoners of conscience jailed in Iran. No one should spend a single day in prison for peacefully exercising their rights," Amnesty International said in October.
Nahid Taghavi, a 66-year-old German-Iranian detained in Iran since October 2020, was moved out of solitary confinement on Tuesday and into a women’s ward, according to her daughter.
“Nasrin and Noushin Jafari were released from Qarchak prison. We look forward to seeing all our imprisoned friends stay with their families before the end of the year,” Reza Khandan tweeted, referring to a journalist released alongside his wife.
Sotoudeh was arrested in June 2018 after defending a woman detained for protesting against the requirement for Iranian women to wear the hijab. She was told at the time that she had been sentenced to five years in prison. In 2019, she was sentenced again to 12 years in prison "for encouraging corruption and debauchery".
The lawyer suffers from a range of chronic health issues. In September, she had to end a 45-day hunger strike that she had launched to seek the release of prisoners amid the COVID-19 pandemic due to her deteriorating health.
Sotoudeh was granted temporary releases in October and November 2020, as well as in January 2021, all for medical reasons. She tested positive for the coronavirus shortly after her second release.
In November, United Nations human rights experts called for Sotoudeh’s release to be made permanent, calling detention "arbitrary, unlawful and disproportionate”.
“We reassert that the Iranian authorities should immediately quash her convictions, review her case consistent with international standards and ensure that she remains free during the review process," the UN experts urged.
Iran has faced international condemnation for its detention of lawyers and activists.
"Nasrin is among the hundreds of prisoners of conscience jailed in Iran. No one should spend a single day in prison for peacefully exercising their rights," Amnesty International said in October.
Nahid Taghavi, a 66-year-old German-Iranian detained in Iran since October 2020, was moved out of solitary confinement on Tuesday and into a women’s ward, according to her daughter.