U.S. State Department Concerned About Status of Nasrin Sotoudeh and Human Rights Activists in Iran

The spokesperson for the U.S. State Department stated that Washington is monitoring reports regarding the status of human rights activists and individuals who are "illegally and arbitrarily" imprisoned in Iran. Heather Nauert emphasized, "Today we are particularly concerned about Nasrin Sotoudeh." According to what was published on the Persian website of the U.S. State Department on social media, Ms. Nauert mentioned on August 15 that "we are closely following reports about multiple human rights defenders and members of minority groups, such as Gonabadi Dervishes, who are illegally and arbitrarily imprisoned in the regime's prisons in Iran." Yesterday, the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Mostafa Abdi, one of the managers of the website "Majzooban Noor" associated with Gonabadi Dervishes, to more than 26 years in prison. The Iranian Revolutionary Court has also issued a total of 59 years of prison sentences for seven other Gonabadi Dervishes. Ms. Nauert further stated in the announcement published in the "U.S. State Department in Persian" on social media that "today we are specifically concerned about Nasrin Sotoudeh, who has been imprisoned in Evin Prison since June 2018 and is facing national security charges for legally representing a woman accused of removing her hijab in public." Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer and human rights advocate, was arrested on June 12 and, according to her husband Reza Khandan, she has been in "temporary detention" for two months. Mr. Khandan wrote on his Facebook last month that this lawyer was sentenced to five years in prison in a case where the judgment was issued in absentia on October 5, 2016. Reza Khandan told Radio Farda that the Revolutionary Court condemned Ms. Sotoudeh based on Article 510 of the Islamic Penal Code, which pertains to aiding spies: "The Evin Prosecutor's Office did not charge Nasrin Sotoudeh with such an accusation, and the ruling does not match the indictment." In recent years, Nasrin Sotoudeh has represented many political and civil activists. She also represented several women during the protests against compulsory hijab, which became known as the "Girls of Revolution Street" protests. Last June, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch also called for the unconditional release of Ms. Sotoudeh. The U.S. State Department spokesperson stated on Wednesday that the Iranian government not only imprisons individuals who peacefully defend their rights but also jails their defenders. According to Ms. Nauert, "These daily human rights violations and arbitrary detentions are truly unacceptable." The U.S. State Department spokesperson urged its allies to join Washington in calling on the Islamic Republic to end the "repression of its people for exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms." Tehran has not yet responded to the statements made by the U.S. State Department spokesperson. The Iranian Foreign Ministry previously described U.S. human rights reports as "biased" and stated that they present a "distorted and unrealistic image of our country's conditions." Criticism of the human rights situation in Iran is not limited to the U.S. government, as other entities and international organizations have also criticized the human rights situation, freedom of expression and media, arbitrary detentions, torture, and executions in Iran.