Nasrin Sotoudeh Files Complaint Against Evin Prison Director
The defense lawyer of “Nasrin Sotoudeh” announced that this jurist and human rights activist filed a complaint against the director of Evin Prison and the prison’s judicial deputy over the issuance of an order to ban her visits.
“Payam Darfshan” told IRNA news agency on Sunday, November 20, that Nasrin Sotoudeh’s complaint against the director and judicial deputy of Evin Prison was accepted at the Public Employees’ Prosecution Office and was referred to the First Investigation Branch of the prosecution office for investigation.
Mr. Darfshan and another lawyer for Ms. Sotoudeh appeared before the investigation branch and presented their explanations regarding the illegality of the actions of the director and judicial deputy of Evin Prison to the case investigator.
Mr. Darfshan added: “The case investigator, after hearing our explanations, by announcing the completion of the investigation, referred this illegal and unlawful act for criminal prosecution.”
Nasrin Sotoudeh previously filed a complaint against Judge Moghisseh through her lawyers Payam Darfshan and Mohammad Moghimi due to legal violations and actions contrary to international human rights treaties.
Ms. Sotoudeh, who was arrested at her home on June 13, 2018, was tried in absentia by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court and was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of espionage.
According to Mr. Darfshan, the indictment issued by the prosecution office charged Ms. Sotoudeh with propaganda against the regime and insulting the Supreme Leader, but Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court issued a verdict against her on the charge of espionage.
Simultaneously, Ms. Sotoudeh was summoned to the Seventh Investigation Branch of Evin Prosecution Office and received a complaint from the Kashan Prosecution Office’s investigator regarding her defense of one of the protesters against mandatory hijab. A bail of 650 million tomans was issued for these charges as well.
According to Payam Darfshan, another case was also opened against Ms. Sotoudeh in Branch Two of Evin Prosecution Office regarding the campaign to abolish the step-by-step death penalty, and Ms. Sotoudeh was summoned and arrested based on it.
Ms. Sotoudeh’s lawyer rejected this charge, saying: “First, the Legam campaign was supposed to be launched by Narges Mohammadi, who was arrested before launching it; secondly, there is no provision in any law that makes requesting the gradual abolition of the death penalty a crime.”
Nasrin Sotoudeh’s arrest triggered protests from the U.S. State Department and international human rights organizations.
Ms. Sotoudeh has defended ideological defendants, arrested protesters, religious minorities, and women protesting mandatory hijab, and is among the lawyers who have called for the abolition of death penalty sentences from Iran’s judicial decisions.
She was sentenced in September 2010 to 11 years in prison, 20 years of disbarment, and 20 years of prohibition from leaving the country, which was reduced on appeal to 6 years in prison and 10 years of disbarment.
She was ultimately released after serving three years in prison and managed to overturn her conviction for disbarment.
Source: Voice of America
