Activists

Nasrin Sotoudeh, 60, is a human rights lawyer in Iran. She has represented imprisoned Iranian opposition activists and politicians following the disputed June 2009 Iranian presidential elections and prisoners sentenced to death for crimes committed when they were minors. Her clients have included journalist Isa Saharkhiz, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, and Heshmat Tabarzadi. She has also represented women arrested for appearing in public without a hijab, which is a punishable offense in Iran.

Sotoudeh’s “first work in the field of women’s rights” was a diverse collection of interviews, reports, and articles for the journal Daricheh. The editor-in-chief of the publication rejected the collection, which “made Sotoudeh even more determined in her work for women’s rights”.

In 1995 at the age of 32 she took the Bar (Kanoon Vokala) exam, earned her lawyers credentials, and became one of the most active members of the law society. Sotoudeh’s work has included defending abused children and mothers and working to protect abused children from returning to their abusive fathers. She believes many abusers are ill or past victims of mistreatment and need professional care and medication. She hopes that the courts will better use child specialists and psychologists in verifying abuse cases to protect innocent children better.

Before her arrest, Sotoudeh represented activists and journalists such as Kourosh Zaim, Isa Saharkhiz, Heshmat Tabarzadi, Nahid Keshavarz, Parvin Ardalan, Omid Memarian, and Roya Tolouie, as well as child abuse and criminal cases. She worked closely with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi and her Defenders of Human Rights Center. Following Sotoudeh’s arrest, Ebadi called for her release and expressed concern regarding her health. In the statement, Ebadi said, “Ms. Sotoudeh is one of the last remaining courageous human rights lawyers who has accepted all risks for defending the victims of human rights violations in Iran”. Former Czech President Václav Havel and Zahra Rahnavard, the wife of opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi, also called for Sotoudeh’s release.

On 28 August 2010, Iranian authorities raided Sotoudeh’s office. At the time, Sotoudeh was representing Zahra Bahrami, a Dutch-Iranian dual citizen charged with security offenses; it was unclear whether the raid was related to Bahrami. On 4 September 2010, Iranian authorities arrested Sotoudeh on charges of spreading propaganda and conspiring to harm state security. The Washington Post described the arrest as “highlighting an intensifying crackdown on lawyers who defend influential opposition politicians, activists and journalists.”

On 9 January 2011, Iranian authorities sentenced Sotoudeh to 11 years in jail for “activities against national security” and “propaganda against the regime.” Additionally, she has been barred from practicing law and leaving the country for 20 years. In mid-September 2011, an appeals court reduced Nasrin Sotoudeh’s prison sentence to six years; her ban from working as a lawyer was reduced to ten years.

Sotoudeh was released on 18 September 2013 along with ten other political prisoners, including opposition leader Mohsen Aminzadeh, days before an address by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to the United Nations. No explanation was given for her early release.

Sotoudeh was arrested again in June 2018. According to her lawyer, she was charged with espionage, dissemination of propaganda and disparaging the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei. She was given a five-year imprisonment for “acting against national security”.

Sotoudeh was released on a five-day medical furlough on 21 July 2021. However, it has been since extended indefinitely.

Nasrin Sotoudeh was the subject of Nasrin, a 2020 documentary filmed in secret in Iran about Sotoudeh’s “ongoing battles for the rights of women, children and minorities.” In 2021, she was named as of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. She was released on a medical furlough in July 2021.