Rights Groups Demand Release Of Iranian Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh

Human rights groups have demanded that Iran release renowned lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh after her arrest last Wednesday. As a champion of women’s and human rights and a notable opponent of the Iranian judiciary, Sotoudeh was convicted in absentia of an unknown crime. A growing consensus of international organisations, including Amnesty International and the Human Rights Watch, have condemned the action as a blatant attack on human rights and political freedom.

Sotoudeh’s husband announced her arrest to the public on Facebook this Friday when he spoke to the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA), revealing that she had received a five-year sentence, despite not having previously been informed of the conviction. The events have earned the ire of prominent international human rights groups. In a Thursday statement, Amnesty International called the sentence “an outrageous attack on a brave and prolific human rights defender.” Sarah Leah Watson, Middle East Director at the Human Rights Watch, similarly marked the decision as an act of “disdain for and fear of the people who seek to protect human rights.” Philip Luther, Amnesty’s research director for the Middle East and North Africa, called for Sotoudeh’s immediate release, adding that, “Any action short of this must be unreservedly condemned by the international community.” The United States Department of State has met Luther’s call to action, demanding the release of Sotoudeh as well as “the hundreds of others who are currently imprisoned simply for expressing their views and desires for a better life.”

Iran’s decision to arrest Sotoudeh is likely an act of retaliation for her public opposition to the regime. Recently, Sotoudeh spoke out against an addition to the Revolutionary Court’s criminal code, which limits those charged with national security crimes to 20 appointed lawyers – a political decision that would allow the government to effectively control their opposition’s legal representation. Such actions are a blatant attack on political freedom, and Sotoudeh’s arrest reinforces the lack of respect the Iranian regime has for political discourse. So far, international appeals for her release have been met with radio silence from the Iranian government.

Having represented juvenile offenders and women’s rights activists facing the death penalty in several high-profile cases, Sotoudeh is no stranger to arrest. In 2010, she had been arrested and sentenced to 11 years in prison, as well as banned from practising law for 20 years. The grounds for her arrest had been varied, with charges ranging from “acting against national security” to “membership in the Center for Human Rights Defenders.” One year later, however, her sentence had been reduced to six years, and her legal ban to ten years. In 2013, the Revolutionary Appeals Court surprised the international community by releasing Sotoudeh, issuing her a complete pardon.

During her time in jail, Sotoudeh had staged two hunger strikes and had later been awarded the prestigious Sakharov prize for her work in defending human rights. Since then, she has continued to take on prominent cases, recently representing several women arrested for protesting the required wearing of headscarves. Her arrest on Wednesday is thus greatly disheartening for those who saw her pardon as a hopeful sign that the Islamic republic’s attitude towards political freedom was improving. Although the recent conviction came as a surprise, Sotoudeh had reportedly received court summons as early as last November, although she had refused to meet them, as – according to Al-Jazeera – she did not believe the court would follow legal procedures and felt that she would be tried unfairly.

The Iranian response to the demands of human rights groups will carry greater implications for the future state of domestic rights. Should the Revolutionary Court choose to release Sotoudeh as they did in 2013, the decision will serve to indicate a less intolerant outlook and a greater receptivity to the international community.

However, Sotoudeh’s continued imprisonment reinforces the recent regression of human rights in Iran. To this end, it is important that the international community continues to pressure Iran. However, Sotoudeh herself claimed that the worsening of the domestic right’s situation in Iran is the direct result of U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to back out of the 2015 nuclear deal. In her own words, “When the country faces a war situation, any talk of human rights is meaningless.” Countries such as the U.S. must toe a fine line between pressuring Iran for Sotoudeh’s release, and jeopardising future diplomacy by further alienating the country. The impact of the arrest on Iran’s international relations is yet unclear, but carries the potential to isolate the country until its human rights track record improves.

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