Nasrin Sotoudeh Continues Hunger Strike in Prison; German Judges Association Awards Her Human Rights Prize

As 23 days have passed since imprisoned Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh began her hunger strike, a judicial organization in Germany has awarded her its special human rights prize.

According to the French news agency, the German Judges Association, known as DRB (Deutscher Richterbund), headquartered in Berlin, announced on Thursday, September 4, that the prize is being awarded to Sotoudeh for her “courage and tireless commitment” to human rights and the rule of law.

Nasrin Sotoudeh, who has been defending political prisoners and was sentenced to 33 years in prison by the Islamic Republic on charges such as “assembly and conspiracy against national security, spreading lies and disturbing public opinion,” began her hunger strike on August 11 of this year in protest against the Islamic Republic’s mistreatment of prisoners and its failure to respect their rights.

In November 2012, the European Union had awarded the Sakharov Prize to Nasrin Sotoudeh for her human rights activities and an Iranian filmmaker, each of whom had been sentenced to six years in prison.

Coinciding with Sotoudeh’s re-imprisonment, Morgan Ortagus, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, recently posted a tweet marking International Women’s Day, expressing solidarity with “brave” Iranian women while referring to “Nasrin Sotoudeh,” the imprisoned lawyer in Iran, and wrote: “On this International Women’s Day, I stand in solidarity with Nasrin Sotoudeh, Iran’s imprisoned human rights lawyer. As she has said: The relentless efforts of women have finally proven that, regardless of support for or opposition to them, women can no longer be overlooked.”

The U.S. State Department’s Office of Global Women’s Issues also announced its support and expressed deep concern for Nasrin Sotoudeh’s health, calling on Iran’s regime to release this imprisoned human rights lawyer and all political prisoners who have been unjustly detained.

After 20 days of Sotoudeh’s hunger strike, her husband Reza Khandan told Voice of America on Monday, September 1: “Unfortunately, we are in contact every other day and sometimes every three days, and they don’t allow us to call from the women’s ward every day. Today it was my turn to talk. Unfortunately, she wasn’t doing well and we became more concerned, because her blood pressure seemed to be low and they didn’t even tell her what her blood pressure was. They said she must definitely have an IV connected, which she refused, but in any case she continues for now.”

Coinciding with Nasrin Sotoudeh’s hunger strike, hundreds of thousands of people launched a Twitter campaign demanding the release of this imprisoned lawyer who is on hunger strike in prison.

Nasrin Sotoudeh, an imprisoned lawyer and civil activist, announced on Tuesday, August 21 by publishing a letter, a copy of which was sent to Voice of America by her husband Reza Khandan, that in protest of the failure to release political prisoners amid the coronavirus crisis and “inhumane conditions” in the Islamic Republic’s prisons, she has begun a hunger strike. Her lawyer says Sotoudeh’s demands are completely “legitimate and legal” and the Iranian government must meet them.

This is not the first time Sotoudeh has gone on a hunger strike. On Monday, March 16, she was among political prisoners who, in response to the prevention of political prisoners’ release amid the coronavirus outbreak, announced a hunger strike through a statement.

In recent days, in continuation of pressure on the families of political prisoners in Iran, Mehraveh Khandan, Nasrin Sotoudeh’s daughter, was released on bail after being arrested and transferred to Evin Prosecutor’s Office.

Mike Pompeo, U.S. Secretary of State, recently said in a press conference: “We have asked not only Syria, but also the Islamic Republic of Iran, to release in these circumstances not only American citizens, but all those who have been unjustly imprisoned. This is a humanitarian act and aside from the fact that these individuals were illegally imprisoned, in these circumstances humanitarian principles require them to be released from prison.”

Source: Voice of America