Our latest Freedom to Write petition is in protest of the eleven year sentence handed down on January 9, 2010 to prominent Iranian writer, journalist and lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, pic right. She was also banned from practicing law and from leaving the country for twenty years. We believe that she is sentenced solely for the peaceful exercise of her right to freedom of expression as guaranteed by Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a party, and call for her immediate and unconditional release.
According to International PEN's information, the eleven-year sentence was delivered by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court on January 9, 2010. The sentence comprises one year imprisonment for "propaganda against the regime," and a total of ten years for the two charges of "acting against national security" and "violating the Islamic dress code (Hijab) in a filmed speech." She is believed to be charged for critical interviews she gave to overseas media following the disputed June 2009 presidential election, and for her membership of the Association of Human Rights Defenders (see below for more details). Her lawyer stated that she has twenty days to appeal against the sentence. After the sentence was delivered her husband was summoned for questioning by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court, allegedly for interviews he had given to the media.
Nasrin Sotoudeh, aged 47 and a mother of two young children, was arrested on September 4, 2010 when she was summoned to the special court in Evin prison on charges of "propaganda against the state," "cooperating with the Association of Human Rights Defenders" and "conspiracy to disturb order." The arrest followed a raid on her home and office by security officers on August 29, 2010, who confiscated her files and documents. Her lawyer was not allowed to represent her in court or accompany her client during questioning. She is held in solitary confinement at Tehran's Evin Prison, where she has been on hunger strike for much of the time since her arrest and concerns for her welfare are mounting. Since her arrest Nasrin Soutadeh has been allowed very limited access to her family, in violation of the Iranian Penal Code which guarantees the right to weekly visits and receive phone calls from relatives.
For more information or to sign the petition, please visit http://www.penusa.org/ran-4510-sotoudeh-petition.
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