Amnesty International Canada

Iran: Free Nasrin Sotoudeh now

Jailed for defending women's right to choice. 

Form Section Structure
 
 

Call on Iranian authorities to release Nasrin Sotoudeh immediately.

 

   

Note: when you take action, an email will be sent to the government of Iran, including your name and the email address you provide. Other details you provide will be processed in line with Amnesty International’s privacy policy.

Supreme Leader
Ali
Khamenei
Government of Iran
Add your personal message and signature

Your Information

Campaign Section Structure
 

World renowned Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes for defending women's rights.

Nasrin has dedicated her life to peaceful human rights work, including defending women who peacefully protest against an Iranian law which compels women to wear hijab (headscarf) and loose clothing.   

Nasrin has been jailed for defending the right of women to choose whether or not they wear hijab. Amnesty International supports the rights to freedom of religion and freedom of expression, including the right of Muslim women to decide whether to wear the hijab or other forms of Islamic dress. 

For her advocacy in support of women’s rights Nasrin has received the harshest sentence recorded against a human rights defender in Iran in recent years, suggesting that the authorities are stepping up their repression. These sentences keep Nasrin separated from her husband and two children and stop her from being able to carry out her important work as a human rights lawyer. 

Now, in prisons across Iran, there have been confirmed cases of COVID-19. This raises grave fears that prisoners like Nasrin are at risk of contracting the virus. Prisoners are at particular risk because they are unable to take the same social distancing and hygiene measures as those outside of prison to protect themselves.

In prisons across Iran, there have been confirmed cases of COVID-19. Nasrin was temporarily released from prison on November 7 while she recovered from COVID-19. However, she was sent back to prison on December 2 despite having a positive COVID-19 test result and against the advise of medical professionals. Prisoners are at particular risk because they are unable to take the same social distancing and hygiene measures as those outside of prison to protect themselves and may lack adequate access to medical care.

Call on Iranian authorities to release Nasrin Sotoudeh immediately and unconditionally and for her sentences to be quashed without delay. 

Amnesty International firmly opposes all forms of Islamophobia and condemns any and all acts of white supremacist racism and violence against Muslim communities.

Additional Information

Nasrin Sotoudeh was arrested at her home in Tehran on June 13, 2018 and taken to Evin prison, where she is detained. She has been denied access to her lawyer.  

The most recent charges against Nasrin Sotoudeh stem from her peaceful human rights work, including her defense of women who were prosecuted in 2018 for peacefully protesting the forced hijab laws in Iran. In her indictment, the prosecution authorities listed seven charges against her, four of which were based on her opposition to forced hijab: “inciting corruption and prostitution”, “openly committing a sinful act by… appearing in public without a hijab”, “disrupting public order”, and “disturbing public opinion.”  

Nasrin Sotoudeh’s peaceful human rights activities against the forced hijab law, including those undertaken in her role as a lawyer, such as meeting with her clients, have been used to build a criminal case against her.  

The other three charges against her—“forming a group with the purpose of disrupting national security”, “spreading propaganda against the system” and “gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security” —were also based on peaceful activities that the authorities have deemed as “criminal.” These activities include belonging to human rights groups such as the Centre for Human Rights Defenders and the Campaign for Step by Step Abolition of the Death Penalty. Even Nasrin Sotoudeh’s insistence on choosing an independent lawyer instead of one from the list of 20 selected by the Head of the Judiciary has also been cited by the prosecution authorities as a criminal act.  

Nasrin has been repeatedly jailed in the past for her peaceful human rights work. 

 
 
 
 

Loading...

Scripts Block