PEN America Condemns the Arrest of Reza Khandan

PEN America condemned the arrest of Reza Khandan, a human rights activist and husband of Nasrin Sotoudeh, who was detained by the Iranian government forces at his home on Friday, December 23. The organization expressed shock at Mr. Khandan's arrest and called for his immediate release. Karin Deutsch Karlekar, director of the Writers in Prison program at PEN America, stated that over the past two decades, while Nasrin Sotoudeh has been a leading voice in protests in Iran and an advocate for fundamental human rights and the rule of law, Reza has been a steadfast supporter of women's rights and his wife. She added, 'We condemn these ruthless and petty retaliatory actions against the Sotoudeh family members and denounce the Iranian authorities' efforts to threaten or silence opponents of stricter limitations on women's rights.' Nasrin Sotoudeh, a well-known human rights lawyer and activist, told Voice of America that her husband was arrested by security police at the 138th precinct in Jannatabad on Friday afternoon. According to Ms. Sotoudeh, the officers initially told her husband that he needed to come to the precinct to explain a traffic violation, but upon his insistence, they were forced to show a warrant related to a ruling from six years ago. She added that this ruling pertains to a joint case formed against Reza Khandan and Farhad Meythami. According to Nasrin Sotoudeh, they were sentenced to six years in prison, five of which were enforceable. She said Reza Khandan was released after four months, and Farhad Meythami was also released after about four and a half years, following protests over the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in September 2022. Ms. Sotoudeh stated that given the existence of certain documents, the case against Reza Khandan and Farhad Meythami had been closed. She added that they were pardoned without submitting a request, but now this case has reopened, and a warrant has been issued. According to Nasrin Sotoudeh, this prison sentence was due to the production of badges titled 'I protest against compulsory hijab,' and Reza Khandan and Farhad Meythami received a total of ten years of enforceable imprisonment. This human rights activist added that this represents a significant image of violence against both women and men, showing how Iranian men stand alongside Iranian women, as they also know that freedom and democracy hinge on respecting human rights and, most importantly, women's rights. According to Ms. Sotoudeh, legally, a closed case cannot be reopened, but the problem is that the closure of the case was not officially communicated to Reza Khandan. She added that the document regarding the closure of the case against Reza Khandan and Farhad Meythami is available and visible on news websites. PEN America noted in its statement that according to its 2023 writing freedom index, at least 49 Iranian writers were arrested due to their activities this year, making Iran the second-largest prison for writers in the world after China. The organization emphasized that the Islamic Republic of Iran is the largest prison for female writers in the world.