Imprisoned Human Rights Lawyer, Nasrin Sotoudeh On Hunger Strike Demands Release of Political Prisoners

According to Iran Human Rights, Nasrin Sotoudeh went on hunger strike by issuing a letter on August 11. A part of her letter reads: “The appellate process, parole, suspending execution sentences and a new law intent on issuing minimum sentences were all promised, but the enforcement of all these legal rights are assigned to interrogators who apply them extrajudicially, closing the last door on political prisoners.”

Reza Khandan, Nasrin’s husband told IHR: “Despite the risk of coronavirus, they’ve made life such hell for political prisoners that [Nasrin Sotoudeh] has been forced to go on hunger strike.”

"She is suffering from chronic leg pain, stomach issues, and vitamin deficiency," he said of Nasrin's health.

Nasrin Sotoudeh, is a lawyer and human rights activist who has represented many human rights activists, women's rights activists, victims of child abuse, and juvenile defenders on death row. She was previously jailed from August 2010 to September 2013 for her professional and human rights activities.

She was arrested again on 13 June 2018 and sentenced to five years in prison in absentia on the charge of "concealing a spy." In a separate case of seven different charges, she was sentenced to 148 lashes and 33 years in prison by Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court presided over by Judge Moghiseh. Given the high number of charges against her, it is unclear how much of the sentence she will have to serve.

The full text of Nasrin Sotoudeh's letter, which was published on Reza Khandan's Facebook, is as follows:

Nasrin's hunger strike and demand for the release of political prisoners:

Human rights activists; In the midst of the coronavirus crisis engulfing Iran and the world, the situation facing political prisoners has become so difficult that their continued imprisonment under these oppressive conditions has become impossible. Political defendants are accused of unbelievable acts: espionage, corruption on earth, colluding against national security, prostitution, and forming illegal Telegram channels which can keep them behind bars for up to ten years or even lead to their execution. Many defendants are denied access to an independent lawyer or prevented from unrestricted consultations with their lawyers from the very start of their judicial process, all the way through to sentencing. Revolutionary Court judges have repeatedly and blatantly told political defendants that their judgments are made solely on the basis of the reports submitted by intelligence and security institutions, and upon arrest, the interrogators tell them what sentences they will receive. Lawyers who challenge Revolutionary Court judges are sent to prison. Defendants facing unbelievably serious charges are served with maximum punishments and in some cases, more severely than the law; then the political prisoner who was sentenced under such unjust conditions, waits for legal recourse in disbelief.

The appellate process, parole, suspending execution sentences and a new law intent on issuing minimum sentences were all promised, but the enforcement of all these legal rights are assigned to interrogators who apply them extrajudicially, and the last doors are closed on the political prisoners. Many prisoners are currently eligible for parole and many of them would be released if the new law was applied but the prisoners are being treated as though the law does not exist and none of them are entitled to the narrowest legal recourse. Prisoner correspondence for access to legal avenues are left unanswered.

With the lack of response to correspondence and requesting the release of political prisoners, I start my hunger strike.

In the hope of justice in my country, Iran.

Evin-Nasrin Sotoudeh

11 August 2020