Iranian Activist Sotoudeh Freed After Detention
Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
Publication Date | 27 October 2014 |
Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Iranian Activist Sotoudeh Freed After Detention, 27 October 2014, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/544fb7c84.html [accessed 26 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. |
Iranian security forces have released rights activist Nasrin Sotoudeh after detaining her for several hours in Tehran following a protest.
Sotoudeh, a well-known human rights attorney, told Reuters on October 26 that she was held along with several other activists the previous day after a rally against a three-year ban on her from practicing law.
She said the rally was also to urge Iranian authorities to allow "more openness and freedom" in society.
Sotoudeh -- the co-winner of the European Parliament's 2012 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought -- said everyone except for her was quickly released.
She said security officials interrogated and threatened her for seven hours before freeing her.
Sotoudeh, 51, was arrested and jailed following the 2010 government crackdown on activists protesting President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's reelection.
She was released from a six-year prison sentence last year.