EU Foreign and Defence Ministry Condemns Conviction of Nasrin Sotoudeh

The diplomatic service and foreign and defence ministry of the EU, European Union External Action (EEAS), has condemned the conviction of prominent Iranian attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh and urged Iran to guarantee her and her husband Reza Khandan, who was sentenced to six years in prison in January 2019, a fair appeal process. The EEAS statement was issued the day after Sotoudeh was sentenced to a combined total of 38 years in prison on March 11, 2019, for her peaceful advocacy of human rights:

The recent conviction of Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh to at least seven years’ imprisonment is a worrying development.

Ms. Sotoudeh, laureate of the Sakharov Prize in 2012, was convicted following a trial held in absentia which also featured a number of other violations of the right to due process. The European Union notes that the right to protest peacefully, as well as the right to express opinion in a non-violent manner, are cornerstones of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a party.

The EU expects an immediate review of her sentence as well as the conviction of her husband Reza Khandan, who was sentenced to 6 years’ imprisonment in January 2019. The European Union also expects Iran to ensure that both Mr. Khandan and Ms. Sotoudeh’s right to appeal their sentences is protected.