FNs menneskeretschef opfordrer den iranske regering til at frigive en menneskeretsaktivist, hvis helbred skranter efter 10 ugers sultestrejke. Regeringen i Teheran mener ikke, at aktivistens helbred er i fare.
GENEVA, 4 December 2012 (UN News Centre): Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer and human rights activis, was arrested on 4 September 2010, and is currently serving a six-year sentence in Tehran’s Evin Prison, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
She was also banned from practising law for 10 years on charges linked to her work as a human rights defender.
Solitary confinement
On 17 October, she began a hunger strike to protest against her prison conditions as well as a travel ban imposed on her husband and 12-year-old daughter. Shortly after, she was put in solitary confinement and was deprived of family visits for several weeks.
“The High Commissioner has urged the Government of Iran to promptly release Ms. Sotoudeh along with all those activists who have been arrested and detained for peacefully promoting the observance of human rights in the country,” Rupert Colville, the spokesperson for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, said in Geneva, Switzerland.
“The rights to freedom of expression and opinion, and peaceful assembly are fundamental human rights which must be protected and respected,” he added.
Extreme concern
Mr. Colville said High Commissioner Pillay is “extremely concerned” about Ms. Sotoudeh’s health – while Iranian authorities claim she is in a good health, her husband, who was recently allowed to visit her, says it has reached a critical stage.
“The High Commissioner urges the Government of Iran to urgently address Ms. Sotoudeh’s situation by lifting the travel ban and other sanctions on her family, which cannot be justified under international law,” Mr. Colville stated.
