June 16, 2018:
Iranian Authorities have detained a prominent Human Rights lawyer who had recently defended the women protesting the obligatory Islamic Headscarf.
Nasrin Sotoudeh was taken from her home, according to her husband, Reza Khandan, who stated that she managed to call him after she was detained.
He stated thar she was told she would be serving a five-year sentence at Evin Prison in Tehran after being convicted in absentia.
There was no immediate comment from the Authorities.
Her husband stated that their 18-year-old daughter was at home at the time of the arrest.
He stated that,"My daughter is preparing for university entrance exams that will be held in two weeks, I don't know how she will manage it in such conditions.''
Amnesty International has condemned the detention, calling it an "outrageous attack on a brave and prolific human rights defender,'' The group said she should be released "immediately and unconditionally.''
Nasrin Sotoudeh is an outspoken critic of country's judiciary, which is dominated by the hard-liners. She had recently objected to its decision to limit number of lawyers allowed to defend the clients in the security-related cases, calling move a "farewell'' to Right of Defense.
Judiciary had released a list of just 20 lawyers, out of the 60,000 licensed attorneys, who would be allowed to defend such cases. After the widespread objections, Judiciary stated that it would expand the list.
Sotoudeh, who has represented the prominent opposition activists, had previously served a three-year prison term from 2010 to 2013 after being convicted of the security-related charges.
She was awarded prestigious Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by European Union in 2012.
Source PTI
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