Nikbakht was returning to Iran from Strasbourg where he attended a ceremony on December 12 for the European parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought that was awarded to Amini and the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Iran. He received the award on behalf of Amini’s family, who was barred from attending by Iranian authorities.
According to Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Nikbakht was interrogated upon his return from France on Friday evening by security forces at Tehran’s Khomeini Airport, who confiscated the award as well as the lawyer’s passport and mobile phone.
Twenty-two-year-old Kurdish woman Amini died while in police custody on September 16, 2022 after she was arrested for allegedly wearing a lax hijab. Her death sparked Iran’s longest protest movement in the past four decades. Protesters chanting “Jin Jiyan Azadi” (Woman Life Freedom) called for greater freedoms for women. The movement grew into an anti-government revolution as the authorities responded with violence. Hundreds of people were killed and thousands arrested.
Nikbakht represented Amini’s family in their case against the Iranian authorities and has represented many political prisoners throughout his career. He was sentenced to one year in prison by a Tehran court in October for "propaganda activity against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
"Zhina’s grief is eternal to me, and she is undying for people all over the world. I firmly believe that her name, beside that of Joan of Arc, will remain a symbol of freedom... Let us hope that no voice will fear the pronouncement of liberty," read a letter from Amini’s mother that the lawyer shared at the award ceremony.
From 1988, when the prize was first awarded to Nelson Mandela and Anatoli Larchenko, to 2022, when the people of Ukraine represented by their president, elected leaders, and civil society brought home the win, the Sakharov prize has recognized the work of free thinkers in a variety of fields, including politics, journalism, law, activism and art.
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