Amnesty International, UA: 197/10 Index: MDE 13/087/2010 IRAN Date: 09 September 2010
URGENT ACTION
Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh was arrested on 4 September after her house and office were searched on 28 August and she was summoned to appear in court. She is currently in solitary confinement in Evin prison in Tehran. Amnesty International considers her to be a prisoner of conscience who is at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.
Nasrin Sotoudehhas defended many high profile human rights campaigners and political activists, as well as juvenile offenders on death row. She has spoken publicly about shortcomings in the rule of law and administration of justice in the course of judicial proceedings against her clients. Her clients include Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi, who has several cases pending against her. In recent months, Nasrin Sotoudeh has been warned she could face reprisals for her continued advocacy for her clients, and her husband, Reza Khandan, has also received threats warning him to stop his wife from defending Shirin Ebadi or she would risk arrest.
Nasrin Sotoudeh is not known to have been formally charged, but the reasons stated on the summons include suspicion of “propaganda against the system” and “gathering and colluding with the aim of harming state security”. She has not yet been granted access to her lawyer. She has not yet been able to see her family but is reported to have called them briefly on 8 September. She has two children, aged 10 and three years.
