Conflicting Reports on New Sentence for Nasrin Sotoudeh; Reza Khandan: 38 Years, Judge Moqiseh: 7 Years

On Tuesday, March 20, conflicting reports emerged regarding a new sentence issued for Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer and human rights activist. While her husband reported a 38-year prison sentence, the judge of the Revolutionary Court mentioned a five-year sentence. Reza Khandan, Sotoudeh's husband, stated, "Nasrin Sotoudeh has been sentenced to 33 years in prison and 148 lashes in her latest case, which was communicated to her in prison." In an interview with Radio Farda, Khandan explained that Sotoudeh had already been sentenced to five years in prison for her first case, bringing her total sentence to 38 years and 148 lashes. Meanwhile, Mohammad Moqiseh, head of Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, said that Sotoudeh was sentenced to five years for conspiracy against national security and two years for insulting the leadership. Khandan insists that any news other than the issuance of a 32-year prison sentence and 148 lashes is "false." He claims that the charge of "insulting the leadership," mentioned by Judge Moqiseh, was not part of Sotoudeh's accusations. Khandan speculates that there may be a third case involving the charge of "insulting the leadership" that they are unaware of. Mohammad Moqimi, a lawyer, stated that according to Khandan, seven charges have been brought against Sotoudeh. Moqimi lists the charges as conspiracy against national security, propaganda against the regime, effective membership in the Human Rights Defenders Center, and more. It appears that Judge Moqiseh preferred to refer only to two of the charges against Sotoudeh. Moqimi noted that part of the lash sentence could stem from the charge of encouraging corruption and prostitution, likely linked to Sotoudeh's support for the "No to Mandatory Hijab" campaign. Mahmoud Behzadi Rad, Sotoudeh's lawyer, reported that a new absentia ruling was issued in her case. Behzadi Rad explained that Sotoudeh had two active cases, one related to a complaint from a prosecutor and another regarding her membership in the Legam campaign against the death penalty. He added that Branch 28 held a session for this case, but Sotoudeh was not present, leading to an absentia ruling. Judge Moqiseh insisted that the ruling was not absentia since Sotoudeh had a lawyer. However, Khandan maintains that both Sotoudeh and her lawyer were absent during the proceedings. Khandan emphasized that they were previously aware that a ruling had been issued about a month and a half ago, but it was only communicated to Sotoudeh in prison this past Saturday. Behzadi Rad mentioned that they have appealed the previous ruling, which was confirmed. Currently, they have requested a review of the new ruling, which has been sent to Branch 36 of the Appeals Court, but a hearing date has not yet been set. Moqimi believes the recent ruling is provisional and can be appealed, suggesting that the total sentence may change based on the aggregation of charges. Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights lawyer, was arrested on June 13 of this year under a summons and has been in prison since. She was previously arrested in September 2010 and sentenced to 11 years in prison, which was later reduced to six years. Sotoudeh was arrested again this year to serve a five-year sentence issued in absentia. Recently, French President Emmanuel Macron sent an official invitation to Sotoudeh for membership in the G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council, which was delivered to her husband. Khandan noted that their family was not aware of the selection process and that Sotoudeh's participation should be a source of pride for Iranian women. Copies of the invitation were also sent to the Iranian Foreign Ministry and the Iranian Bar Association. Reza Khandan himself has spent time in prison and faces a six-year sentence.