Nasrin Sotoudeh: Representing the Girls of Revolution Street Considered 'Encouragement of Prostitution'

Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights lawyer imprisoned in Iran, announced that the judicial system of the Islamic Republic has accused her of 'encouraging corruption and prostitution' for taking on the representation of the girls of Revolution Street and sentenced her to 12 years in prison. In a letter published on Saturday, April 10, she revealed that she has been sentenced to a total of 38 and a half years in prison and 148 lashes, of which 12 years will be enforced. Reza Khandan, Sotoudeh's husband, confirmed the authenticity of this letter in an interview with Radio Farda. In her letter, Sotoudeh also stated that her representation in the cases related to the girls of Revolution Street and placing a bouquet on the platform of Revolution Street were considered 'instances of corruption and prostitution' for which 12 years of imprisonment were determined. According to this lawyer, the judge in her case used a derogatory term regarding the girls of Revolution Street, which is prosecutable in its own right. Based on this letter, Sotoudeh was sentenced to seven and a half years for 'collusion and conspiracy to disrupt national security' and the same amount for 'membership in the Legam campaign' (abolishing the death penalty step by step). Additionally, she received one and a half years for 'propaganda against the regime', three years and 74 lashes for 'spreading falsehoods to disturb public opinion', and 74 lashes for 'appearing without proper hijab'. Sotoudeh stated that she has been sentenced to a total of 38 and a half years and 148 lashes, of which, according to 'Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code', only the 12-year sentence will be enforced. According to Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, if a person has committed multiple offenses, only the sentence with the highest penalty is considered. However, Sotoudeh pointed out that 'the fundamental question is what happens to the remaining sentences?' She cited part of Article 134 and demanded that 'in such cases, all penalties should be clarified to lead to the release of the convicted individual.' She emphasized that her court was 'held without the presence of the defendant and lawyer, and explicitly prevented the lawyer from attending the prosecutor's stage, which is also acknowledged in the indictment.' Sotoudeh was arrested on June 13 of this year and has been in prison since then. In 2016, she was sentenced to five years in absentia for 'collusion and conspiracy to disrupt national security' due to her sit-in in front of the Bar Association. The issuance of new sentences for her has faced widespread reactions from human rights organizations, the United States, and the European Union, which have called on Tehran to release Sotoudeh immediately. Meanwhile, Shirin Ebadi criticized the indifference of the Bar Association regarding the arrest and imprisonment of lawyers in an interview with the Human Rights Campaign website in Iran. She stated: 'The gentlemen who... repeatedly speak on behalf of us lawyers in international forums have billion-dollar legal rights in major cases of semi-public companies... do not care if another lawyer is brought to the Bar in handcuffs or another lawyer receives a 10-year sentence.' Last year, in addition to Nasrin Sotoudeh, several lawyers including Arash Keykhosravi, Ghasem Sholeh Saadi, Farakh Forouzan, Mostafa Daneshjou, Mostafa Torkhamdani, Payam Darvishan, and Zeinab Taheri were arrested, and Mohammad Najafi and Amir Salar Davoodi remain imprisoned.