Iran: Nasrin Sotoudeh 'among freed political prisoners'

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1 18 September 2013 Last updated at 20:43 GMT Iran: Nasrin Sotoudeh 'among freed political prisoners' Iran is reported to have freed at least 11 political prisoners, including noted human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh. The eight women and three men are said to also include the reformist politician Mohsen Aminzadeh. The move comes just days before Iran's new President Hassan Rouhani visits New York for the UN General Assembly. In another development, Mr Rouhani described a recent letter sent to him by US President Barack Obama as "positive and constructive". In an interview with US broadcaster NBC, he said he had full authority to negotiate a deal over Tehran's controversial uranium enrichment programme with the West. He also reiterated Iran's position that it would never develop nuclear weapons. The BBC's Iran correspondent James Reynolds says Mr Rouhani's decision to speak to a major US news organisation shows the importance to his government of reconciliation with Washington. In his election campaign, Mr Rouhani promised to free political prisoners. Release 'a surprise' Ms Sotoudeh was arrested in 2010 and jailed for six years on charges of acting against national security.

2 Her husband, Reza Khandan, said she had been dropped off at their home by prison officials on Wednesday evening. A day after Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei backed diplomatic flexibility, the release of a number of political prisoners can be seen as a promising development. On Tuesday, Ayatollah Khamenei told the commanders of the revolutionary guards that it was not necessary for them to "guard politics". The Iranian opposition accuses the revolutionary guards of playing a role in the disputed presidential election of 2009 and the arrests that followed it. Ahead of President Rouhani's trip to New York and nuclear talks, it seems that the supreme leader is trying to portray a better image of the regime to the world. A goal that might be difficult to achieve as long as the leaders of the opposition are under house arrest. He said she had been unaware that she was about to be released. "I am happy that she joined us, particularly as our younger child is starting school for the first time,'' he told AP news agency. "We are very happy but we will be happier if other prisoners are freed." There has been no official comment on Ms Sotoudeh's release or on the other prisoners reported to have been freed. Ms Sotoudeh - winner of the European Parliament's 2012 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought - is a well-respected and outspoken human rights lawyer known for taking on highprofile political cases. During her captivity in Tehran's Evin jail, she went on hunger strike to protest against her prison conditions as well as sanctions imposed on her family. Mohsen Aminzadeh, a former deputy foreign minister under President Mohammed Khatami, was jailed in 2010 for organising protests and spreading propaganda against the system. He was a prominent supporter of the defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. Analysts say that since President Rouhani's election, there have been growing calls for the release of political prisoners. According to an investigation by the UK's Guardian newspaper, there are close to 800 political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Iran. They include journalists, lawyers, human rights activists, bloggers, feminists, Christian priests, Sunni clerics, the entire leadership of the Bahai faith in Iran, and others. The releases come a day after Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, gave the strongest sign yet of Iran's potential flexibility in future talks with the West. Iran is subject to sanctions by the UN, the US and the European Union over its controversial nuclear programme.

3 In a meeting with Revolutionary Guards he said: "I don't oppose diplomacy. I am in favour of showing a champion's leniency. A wrestler may give way for tactical reasons, but should remember who is its opponent and enemy." The head of Iran's nuclear agency told reporters in Tehran on Wednesday that he expected "a breakthrough" this year in settling the nuclear issue with the West. "We are very optimistic about the process that has started to resolve the nuclear issue," said Ali Akbar Salehi.

4 Nasrin Sotoudeh Exclusive Interview One Hour After Her Release (September 18, 2013) An hour after her release from prison, human rights lawyer and prisoner of conscience Nasrin Sotoudeh told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, When they took me out of the prison, they told me, You are free. Last night they told four others. They told me that my furlough was approved, but when I came out of the prison door, they told me You are free. This is why I didn t sign the furlough form in which prisoners promise to return after three to four days.

5 Nasrin Sotoudeh also told the Campaign that the other imprisoned lawyers must be released as soon as possible, because they are only in prison because they carried out their professional duties. We wish for everyone to be released, because their imprisonment was a result of that heavy political atmosphere, without a doubt. I was honored to have Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani as my lawyer; he did a lot of hard work for my case. Three of my lawyers were prosecuted, and Mr. Soltani received the heaviest sentence with 13 years in prison along with exile at Borazjan prison. Of course he is still [imprisoned] in Tehran now. According to all international standards, lawyers are immune in carrying out their professional duties, and this is a principle that has been totally ignored and violated in the case of lawyers in Iran. We really want attention to this principle, she told the Campaign. Reza Khandan, Nasrin Sotoudeh s husband, told the Campaign, My wife was told that she has been released, but she doesn t know exactly whether this was a conditional release or a pardon. Of course she would have qualified for conditional release, but political prisoners aren t usually granted conditional release. Usually, when she came to furlough leave, she was informed of how many days she would be on leave, but they just told her You are free and brought her home in their car and left. Nasrin Sotoudeh, lawyer and human rights activist, repeatedly embarked on hunger strikes to protest her conditions, and was transferred to solitary confinement. Sotoudeh has been in prison since September She was sentenced to 11 years in prison, 20 years ban on her legal practice, and 20 years ban on foreign travel on charges of acting against national security, collusion and propaganda against the regime, and membership in the Defenders of Human Rights Center. An appeals court later reduced her sentence to six years in prison. She was also separately sentenced to cash fines for failing to observe the Islamic hejab, or head-covering. The release of Nasrin Sotoudeh and several other political prisoners takes place as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani prepares to travel next week to attend the UN General Assembly s 68th session in New York. In past years, international media have questioned Iranian officials about the conditions of political prisoners and the suppressive atmosphere inside Iran during their New York trips. Listen to the Campaign s Iran Rights Podcast For the latest human rights developments in Iran visit the Campaign s website For interviews, contact Hadi Ghaemi at

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7 Iran: Prominent Human Rights Defender Released; other writers languish in prison The early release from prison on 18 September 2013 of Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, recipient of the 2011 American PEN Centre s Barbara Goldsmith award and the 2012 Sakharov prize for Freedom of Thought is a welcome first step that the Iranian authorities may be addressing the dire state of freedom of expression in the country, PEN International said. The grounds on which she was released from her six-year prison term remain unclear, according to her husband, Reza Khandan, in reports carried by news agencies. As news spread of the unexpected release, Marian Botsford Fraser, Chair of PEN International s Writers in Prison Committee said, "A fearless defender of the human rights of people in Iran is freed." "In prison, she remained fiercely committed to human rights; she suffered solitary confinement for her hunger strike to protest the travel ban on her daughter; and the conditions of her incarceration were abysmal. We welcome this wonderful news, about a woman who has been an inspiration to so many. I have just returned from PEN International s 79th World Congress in Iceland, where delegates discussed the very serious restrictions on freedom of expression in Iran. We are calling on the Iranian authorities to match the steps they have taken today by releasing all other writers currently imprisoned in Iran solely for exercising their right to legitimate freedom of expression. It is also unclear whether Sotoudeh continues to remain subject to a 10-year ban on travel abroad and practising as a lawyer. PEN International has long been concerned at the situation of freedom of expression in Iran and currently is aware of over 20 other writers, journalists and bloggers detained solely on account of their peaceful expression of their opinions or advocacy of others rights. Nasrin Sotoudeh is an honorary member of the Canadian, Scottish, Finnish and Swedish PEN centres. For more information please contact:

8 Cathy McCann, Asia/MENA Researcher/Campaigner: Or Sahar Halaimzai, Communications and Campaigns Manager: Phone: + 44 (0) Note to Editors PEN International celebrates literature and promotes freedom of expression. Founded in 1921, our global community of writers now comprises 144 Centres spanning more than 100 countries. Our programmes, campaigns, events and publications connect writers and readers for global solidarity and cooperation. PEN International is a non-political organization and holds consultative status at the United Nations and UNESCO.