Pressure continues on families of political prisoners in Iran; 20-year-old daughter of imprisoned lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh arrested for several hours, released on bail
Reports indicate that Mehraveh Khandan, the daughter of Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer imprisoned in Iran, was released on bail after being arrested and transferred to Evin Prosecutor's Office.
On Monday, August 17, Reporters Without Borders announced on its Twitter page the arrest of Mehraveh Khandan, daughter of Nasrin Sotoudeh, and wrote that she had been summoned to Evin Prosecutor's Office along with a number of journalists.
The organization described the arrest of Nasrin Sotoudeh's daughter as "further pressure on a mother who has been on a hunger strike demanding the release of political prisoners."
Hours after the news was published, human rights media outlets reported, citing Reza Khandan, Nasrin Sotoudeh’s husband and Mehraveh’s father, that on Monday afternoon, five security officers came to their house, arrested Mehraveh without any prior summons, and transferred her to Branch 1 of the Evin District Prosecutor’s Office without providing any explanation. The daughter of Mr. Khandan and Ms. Sotoudeh is 20 years old and, according to her father, has now been released on bail.
Reza Khandan also stated on Twitter that the reason for this action was to put pressure on Sotoudeh's family and to distract public attention from the prisoners' widespread hunger strike.
The short-term detention of Nasrin Sotoudeh's daughter sparked many reactions on social media, with many users citing her arrest as the crime of "being Nasrin Sotoudeh's daughter."
Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer and imprisoned civil activist, went on a hunger strike in Evin Prison last week after publishing a letter protesting the failure to release political prisoners amid the coronavirus crisis and the "cruel conditions" in the Islamic Republic's prisons.
Reza Khandan, a human rights activist and husband of Nasrin Sotoudeh, told VOA that the imprisoned civil rights activist has not announced an exact time for the end of her hunger strike, but she may end her strike if all or even part of her stated demands are met.
The Islamic Republic has repeatedly taken action to arrest relatives and friends of civil and human rights activists or opponents of the regime, including the arrest of Ali Alinejad, the brother of Masih Alinejad, a journalist and Voice of America contributor.
On Tuesday, September 21, 2019, Iranian Intelligence Ministry agents arrested Ali Alinejad, the brother of Masih Alinejad, after launching a campaign against compulsory hijab, called “White Wednesdays.”
The US State Department has repeatedly condemned the violent confrontations and widespread repression of protesters, as well as the repeated and persistent violations of the rights of Iranian citizens by the ruling regime in that country.
Source: Voice of America
