Iran
Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh (L) speaks on the phone next to her husband Reza Khandan as they pose for a photo at their house in Tehran on September 18, 2013. File photo: Behrouz Mehri/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Jailed Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has ended her more than 40-day hunger strike because of health problems, her husband said on Saturday.
Sotoudeh and Rezvaneh Khanbeigi, a civil rights activist also in prison, “both broke their hunger strike yesterday due to their deteriorating condition,” her husband Reza Khandan tweeted.
Sotoudeh, 57, announced her hunger strike on August 11 as a protest over prison conditions during the coronavirus pandemic and demanding the release of political prisoners. She was hospitalized for five days because of poor health, but was returned to Evin prison on Wednesday.
“She decided to end the hunger strike in order not to worsen her heart problems,” Khandan told AFP. She suffers from a range of chronic health problems.
On Friday, UN experts called for her immediate release.
Sotoudeh was arrested in June 2018 and is serving a 12-year sentence after representing women participating in demonstrations against compulsory hijab laws.
Sotoudeh and Rezvaneh Khanbeigi, a civil rights activist also in prison, “both broke their hunger strike yesterday due to their deteriorating condition,” her husband Reza Khandan tweeted.
Sotoudeh, 57, announced her hunger strike on August 11 as a protest over prison conditions during the coronavirus pandemic and demanding the release of political prisoners. She was hospitalized for five days because of poor health, but was returned to Evin prison on Wednesday.
“She decided to end the hunger strike in order not to worsen her heart problems,” Khandan told AFP. She suffers from a range of chronic health problems.
On Friday, UN experts called for her immediate release.
Sotoudeh was arrested in June 2018 and is serving a 12-year sentence after representing women participating in demonstrations against compulsory hijab laws.
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