Jailed Iranian rights lawyer released, amid health problems
Posted November 7, 2020 4:55 am.
Last Updated November 7, 2020 5:02 am.
TEHRAN, Iran — A leading Iranian human rights lawyer has been released from prison, Iran’s state-run news agency reported Saturday, after she was earlier hospitalized amid a hunger-strike conducted from her cell.
Nasrin Sotoudeh was taken to hospital in mid-September, a month after launching her hunger strike seeking better prison conditions and the release of political prisoners amid the pandemic.
IRNA’s report said Sotoudeh has now been released from the women’s prison where she was being held.
The assistant prosecutor in charge of the prison approved her release, according to the state news agency. It did not include details of her health condition, or details about the conditions of her release from prison.
Sotoudeh was arrested in 2018 on charges of collusion and propaganda against Iran’s rulers and eventually was sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes. Under the law she must serve at least 12 years.
During her prison term, Sotoudeh occasionally visited clinics as she also suffered chronic gastrointestinal and foot problems.
Earlier this year, the 57-year-old Sotoudeh — known for defending activists, opposition politicians and women prosecuted for removing their headscarves,— held a five-day hunger strike demanding prisoners be released to protect them from the coronavirus.
The Associated Press
