FIDH welcomes with great joy the news of Nasrin Sotoudeh’s release, announced today by her husband, Reza Khandan, on his Facebook page.
Nasrin, our friend and colleague, is a human rights lawyer from Iran, known for defending juveniles facing death penalty and prisoners of conscience. She is also a member of FIDH member organization, the Defenders of Human Rights Centre (DHRC) founded by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi.
Since her arrest in September 2010, FIDH remained constantly mobilized. In January 2011, in Geneva, FIDH then-president, Souhayr Belhassen, participated to a sit-in with Iranian activists, declaring : « We are all Nasrin Sotoudeh ».
Last year, current FIDH President Karim Lahidji and Shirin Ebadi represented Nasrin at the award ceremony of the Sakharov prize, which she received jointly with the Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi in December 2012.
Karim Lahidji declared today: «Nasrin has been detained for three years in Evin prison, under extremely difficult conditions. I am so happy to learn about her release ; however I hope it will be permanent and without conditions».
«There are other human rights defenders in prison in Iran, including Messrs Abdolfattah Soltani and Mohammad Seifzadeh, also DHRC co-founders. The authorities should now release all of them.» added Mr. Lahidji.
FIDH also considers as an encouraging sign the news of the release of several other prisoners of conscience, including journalist Mahsa Amrabadi, Mahboubeh Karami, member of the One Million Signature Campaign and Jila Karamzadeh-Makvandi, supporter of Mothers of Park Laleh (Mourning Mothers).