Imprisoned Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh wins freedom of travel for her daughter, 2012

In September 2010, Iranian authorities sentenced prominent human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh to 11 years in prison on charges of acting against national security and propaganda against the Iranian regime. She was also originally barred from practicing law or leaving the country for 20 years, but in September 2011, authorities reduced her sentence to 6 years and the bans on law practice and travel to 10 years. Since her incarceration in Evin Prison in Tehran, Iranian authorities have repeatedly placed her in solitary confinement and prevented her from seeing her family for months at a time.

In July 2010, Amnesty International urged the Iranian government to stop harassing Sotoudeh’s husband and 12-year-old daughter, upon whom the government had placed a travel ban. Ann Harrison, deputy director of Amnesty International for the Middle East and Northern Africa, also denounced the travel ban, which she argued was a tactic to try to force Sotoudeh’s family to stop campaigning for her release.  Sotoudeh also gained support from UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon when he visited Tehran in August and pressed government officials on Iran’s human rights record. The UN Iran Special Rapporteur in human rights, Ahmed Shaheed, also criticized authorities for harassing prisoners with mock executions, rape, sleep deprivation, and threats to their families.

On 16 October 2012, Sotoudeh began an indefinite hunger strike to protest the Iranian government’s placing a travel ban on her daughter. On the 26th, Sotoudeh received the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. The European Union’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, the United Kingdom’s foreign secretary William Hague and Foreign Minister Alistair Blair all spoke out in support of Sotoudeh. Concerned about Sotoudeh’s deteriorating health, Ashton vowed to continue campaigning for the charges against Sotoudeh and other human rights defenders to be dropped. Hague called Sotoudeh’s incarceration “outrageous” and “deplorable.” Burt also urged the Iranian government to review Sotoudeh’s case. Karim Lahidji, the president of the Iranian League for the Defense of Human Rights, called the EU’s decision to support Sotoudeh’s cause a victory for Iranian human rights defenders.

On 31 October, authorities placed Sotoudeh in solitary confinement. They transferred her to a cell with no facilities except a book, her eyeglasses, and a heating pad. They also denied her medical care. In response, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Reporters Without Borders, the International Federation for Human Rights, the Iranian League for the Defense of Human Rights, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi called on the Iranian government to allow prisoners access to medical care and family visits to which they are entitled under the International Human Rights law. They also renewed their demand that the government drop all charges and release imprisoned human rights activists unconditionally.

At the start of Sotoudeh’s fourth week of fasting on 20 November 2012, the Iranian American Bar Association urged authorities to abide by Iranian laws and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. They also asked for authorities to release Sotoudeh from solitary confinement and grant her the necessities she was entitled to, including weekly family visits.

On 4 December 2012, Sotoudeh ended her hunger strike after multiple parliamentary members visited her and assured her that they would lift the travel ban on her daughter.