Nasrin Sotoudeh: In Iran, We Are Imprisoned Whether Inside or Outside Prison

Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer and human rights activist, said in a written interview with a French publication about the current situation in Iran that during a period of injustice, being imprisoned or not imprisoned “has no significance.”

Nasrin Sotoudeh, in this conversation published Thursday in the latest issue of the weekly Libération, printed in Paris, regarding her 17-month prison stay, stated: “In Iran, whether we live inside a prison or outside of it, we are always imprisoned […] You might think I am exaggerating, but when our concern is the lack of justice in society, being inside prison or outside of it, has no significance.”

According to the weekly Libération, the interview with the imprisoned human rights defense lawyer in Iran was conducted in writing.

Nasrin Sotoudeh has been sentenced to a total of 33 years imprisonment and 148 lashes on charges of “gathering and conspiracy against national security, propaganda activities against the system, active membership in the illegal and anti-security group of the Human Rights Defenders Center, Legam (abolishing executions), and the National Council of Peace, encouraging people toward corruption and indecency and providing the means for it, and appearing without Islamic hijab at the investigation branch office, disrupting public order and tranquility, and publishing lies with the intent to disturb public opinion.” However, according to Article 134 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, 12 years of this sentence are “enforceable.”

Nasrin Sotoudeh continued in this interview: “I cannot mourn my freedom, because Iranian society does not experience such freedom. Enduring work as a woman lawyer in unjust courts is more torturous than enduring prison.”

Nasrin Sotoudeh, emphasizing that Iran’s current political atmosphere has become “radical” and punishments have become “harsher” than before, added: “In the women’s political ward of the prison, some of them are accused of espionage, which is a recent matter.”

Reasons for Arrest

This human rights activist, in another section of this conversation, in response to a question about the main reason for her latest arrest, refers to signing “a petition requesting a referendum on the rule of the Islamic Republic, alongside other activists inside and outside the country.”

Nasrin Sotoudeh added that “as a lawyer, she accepted the defense of several girls from Revolution Street” who were protesting mandatory hijab in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Membership in the Legam campaign (Gradual Abolition of Executions) is also one of the activities that Ms. Sotoudeh cited as a reason for her arrest, but emphasized that it was her “right” to discuss these activities with the media.

This imprisoned lawyer emphasized: “According to the law, none of these activities are crimes, but the authorities in Iran do not tolerate them, and allow themselves to illegally prosecute those who engage in such activities.”

She said: “I really don’t know which one of these ‘sabotage’ activities of theirs [Iranian judicial authorities] led them to the conclusion that they should arrest me. I cannot even guess.”

Further, Nasrin Sotoudeh, in response to why the issue of hijab is so fundamental for the Iranian government, said that this question should be asked to the Islamic Republic, which “has based its survival with such persistence on such a principle.”

This imprisoned lawyer emphasized that “as a woman and mother,” she feels “insulted” by mandatory hijab and is at the same time “concerned about the future of her daughter.”

Nasrin Sotoudeh said “the freedom to choose how to dress myself is fundamental for me.”

“44 Female Prisoners”

She then spoke about her cellmates, saying she shares a cell with Ghiti Pourfazel, another lawyer who is 75 years old and was imprisoned for defending victims of human rights violations.

Nasrin Sotoudeh added that many of her cellmates are women who have been imprisoned because of their struggle against mandatory hijab: “We now have 44 female prisoners in one ward. An unprecedented number from eight years ago when this ward was built.”

This lawyer then discussed the history of her professional activities and, among other things, referred to her collaboration in the 1990s with nationalist-religious figures. She said that since 2003 when she obtained her law office license, as soon as she started her work, she “concentrated on just actions of justice.”

Nasrin Sotoudeh, in another section of this interview, discussed family conditions and the level of education of her parents, saying they “belonged economically to the middle class.”

In response to another question about what she thinks about in prison, she said: “Naturally, I think a lot about the judicial system and its reform, but especially about the future, what comes after. This is what preoccupies me more than other things these days. If the government changes, how can we avoid violence or at least limit it as much as possible? How can we prevent the emergence of a cycle of revenge and retaliation?”

Referring to the experiences of other countries such as South Africa, Argentina, and Chile, she continued that this topic is one of the subjects discussed in prison.

Sotoudeh also referred to books read in this field in prison and specifically mentioned the play “Death and the Maiden” by Chilean writer Ariel Dorfman, which is about the period after dictatorship.

She concludes by saying that she is “deeply optimistic,” otherwise she could not continue: “But more than optimism, I believe in life […] I sometimes despair, but I always return to my work, to life.”

The prison sentence issued for Nasrin Sotoudeh was met with widespread reaction from human rights organizations, the United States, and the European Union. International bodies called on Tehran to immediately release Ms. Sotoudeh.

In this regard, Philip Luther, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Branch of Amnesty International’s Research and Support Division, in a statement about Nasrin Sotoudeh’s situation, said that the arrest of this Iranian lawyer “has exposed the depth of repression by Iranian authorities on the world stage.”

Source: Radio Farda