Jailed Iranian lawyer temporarily released

Publisher	Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Publication Date	17 January 2013
Cite as	Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Jailed Iranian lawyer temporarily released, 17 January 2013, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5122357928.html [accessed 31 May 2023]
Disclaimer	This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

January 17, 2013

Nasrin Sotoudeh

Jailed Iranian lawyer and human rights activist Nasrin Sotoudeh has been temporarily freed by the authorities.

Sotoudeh was released on January 17 for three days.

She is serving a six-year sentence after being convicted in September 2010 of spreading propaganda and conspiring to threaten national security.

Iranian authorities have not said why Sotoudeh was freed.

Iran's judiciary, however, occasionally grants a furlough to prisoners convicted of nonviolent crimes, especially for national holidays.

Sotoudeh has represented several high-profile journalists and human rights activists, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi.

Sotoudeh staged a hunger strike last year for almost 50 days to protest the authorities' reported mistreatment of her young daughter.

The European Union awarded Sotoudeh with its Sakharov Prize in October in recognition of her courage in defending human rights.

Based on reporting by Reuters and kaleme.com