Iran: Human Rights Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh Given First Furlough

Nasrin Sotoudeh, the jailed Iranian human rights lawyer and activist, has been given a furlough for the first time since she was jailed in September of 2010.

Her husband, Reza Khadan, reported on his Facebook page that his wife has been given a three-day furlough starting today and is currently with her family.

Nasrin Sotoudeh is currently serving a six-year jail sentence. She has gone on a number of hunger strikes to protest her mistreatment in prison and the violation of her rights and her family’s.

She endured her last hunger strike for more than 40 days, until the authorities agreed to remove a travel ban on her minor daughter that had no legal justification. Recent reports indicate that judicial authorities have often used various forms of pressure on the families of political prisoners, and Sotoudeh’s hunger strike was an outcry against these practices.

Sotoudeh is charged with “acting against national security and propaganda against the regime” for her collaboration with the Defenders of Human Rights Centre, an NGO that offered pro bono legal services for human rights cases.

Meanwhile, Bahareh Hedayat, a prominent student activist, was also reportedly given a furlough. According to her husband, Omid Ahmadian, she has been allowed sick leave but is prohibited from giving any interviews to the media or engaging in any political activity.

Hedayat is serving a nine-and-a-half-year prison term.

(2013-01-18/eurasiareview)