Nasrin Sotoudeh's hunger strike continues in prison; German Judges' Association awards her human rights award

While 23 days have passed since the hunger strike of imprisoned lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh in Iran, a German judicial institution awarded Ms. Sotoudeh its special human rights award.

According to AFP, the German Judges' Association known as the DRB (German: Deutscher Richterbund), which is headquartered in Berlin, announced on Thursday, September 4, that the award will be given to Nasrin Sotoudeh for her "courage and tireless commitment" to human rights and the law.

Nasrin Sotoudeh, who was sentenced to 33 years in prison by the Islamic Republic on charges such as "gathering and colluding against national security, spreading lies, and disturbing public opinion" for defending political prisoners, began her hunger strike on August 11 of this year to protest the Islamic Republic's mistreatment of prisoners and failure to respect their rights.

In November 2012, the European Union awarded the Sakharov Prize for human rights activities to Nasrin Sotoudeh and an Iranian filmmaker, each of whom was sentenced to 6 years in prison.

At the same time as Ms. Sotoudeh was re-imprisoned, US State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus recently tweeted on the occasion of International Women's Day, referring to Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer imprisoned in Iran, and expressed solidarity with Iranian "brave women" and wrote: "On this International Women's Day, I express solidarity with Nasrin Sotoudeh, an imprisoned Iranian human rights lawyer. As she said: The tireless efforts of women have finally proven that, regardless of whether we support or oppose them, women can no longer be ignored."

The US State Department's Office of Women's Affairs has also expressed support and deep concern for the health of Nasrin Sotoudeh and called on the Iranian regime to release this imprisoned human rights lawyer and all political prisoners who have been unjustly detained.

After twenty days of Ms. Sotoudeh's hunger strike, her husband, Reza Khandan, told VOA on Monday, September 1: "Unfortunately, we are in contact every two days and sometimes every three days, and they do not allow calls from the women's ward every day. Today was the call time, and I spoke. Unfortunately, she was not in a good condition, and we were more worried, because her blood pressure was apparently low and they did not tell her what her blood pressure was, and they said she must have a catheter, which she refused, but she is continuing anyway for now."

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

Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer and imprisoned civil activist, announced on Tuesday, August 11, in a letter, a copy of which was sent to VOA by Ms. Sotoudeh’s husband, Reza Khandan, that she has gone on a hunger strike to protest the failure to release political prisoners amid the coronavirus crisis and the “cruel conditions” in the Islamic Republic’s prisons. Her lawyer says Ms. Sotoudeh’s demands are completely “legitimate and legal” and that the Iranian government must meet them.

This is not the first time Ms. Sotoudeh has gone on a hunger strike. On Monday, March 16, she was among the political prisoners who went on a hunger strike by issuing a statement in response to the prevention of the release of political prisoners during the coronavirus outbreak.

In recent days, and in continuation of the 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 the Evin District Court.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently said in a press conference: "We have asked not only Syria, but also the Islamic Republic of Iran to release not only American citizens, but all those who have been unjustly imprisoned in these circumstances. This is a humanitarian act, and apart from the fact that these people have been imprisoned illegally, in these circumstances the principle of humanitarianism dictates that they be released from prison."

Source: Voice of America