"Nasrin Sotoudeh must be released without conditions", claims his lawyer

Nasrin Sotoudeh.

نسرین ستوده

Text by: Sara Saidi Follow

4 min

Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been imprisoned for more than two years in Tehran.

From prison, she continues her fight, especially for the rights of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience.

And this, at the expense of his health.

Mohammad Moghimi is one of his lawyers.

From abroad, he denounces the regime's relentlessness against his client.

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RFI: How is your client, Nasrin Sotoudeh?

Mohammad Moghimi:

After 46 days of hunger strike, she is obviously not doing well.

Her health had deteriorated so badly that she was hospitalized.

She has just ended the hunger strike but it will take time for her to recover.

In addition, given her situation, she should be followed by a trusted doctor, in a hospital that she or her family would have chosen or from home.

But unfortunately the law is not respected and she was unfairly sent back to prison, despite her poor health.

How is it possible ?

The Taleghani hospital (where she was taken, Editor's note), was chosen by the regime.

Usually all political prisoners are taken there.

Ms. Sotoudeh's trusted doctor was therefore unable to access her medical file.

She could not see her husband.

In fact, during this time, his family was banned from visiting by order of the Tehran prosecutor.

It is a violation of the law and it is inhumane.

So Iranian law normally allows a political prisoner to have his sentence postponed in the event of a deterioration in his health

Yes, and not just political prisoners.

According to article 502 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, any convicted person who is ill, physically or mentally, upon the attestation of a doctor, must be hospitalized and the execution of the sentence must be postponed until he recovers.

And this, whatever the charges which weigh against this person, whether it is a prisoner of common law or a political prisoner.

So the law is unfortunately not respected in the case of Madame Sotoudeh.

You yourself were arrested in 2015 and are currently abroad.

Are you under pressure

Lawyers in Iran are forced to be silent or else speak very cautiously.

If I was in Iran today, surely I would have been imprisoned.

How do you concretely defend Nasrin Sotoudeh

To oppose non-compliance with the law, non-compliance with the right to a fair trial and because she considers that the Revolutionary Tribunal has no legitimacy, Nasrin Sotoudeh has decided not to appear before the Court and asked his lawyers to do the same.

She therefore did not oppose the sentence of 33 years and 6 months in prison as well as the 148 lashes, to which are added five additional years, of a previous conviction.

The conviction therefore became effective (…) there was no appeal.

In this context, my objective is above all to inform public opinion - guaranteeing the application of human rights - within the country and internationally.

Do you think there is any hope of seeing Nasrin Sotoudeh freed

Nasrin Sotoudeh has been unjustly imprisoned (…) from the start, his arrest is against the law and against all principles of law.

She must be released unconditionally.

But for now, I don't think it's possible because the regime is repressing.

The Islamic Republic is no longer popular today.

The only way left for him to continue to exist is to use force to govern (…) This is why he represses and / or arrests all those who criticize him, as well as any opponent.

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