Iran Temporarily Releases Human Rights Lawyer Sotoudeh

Iran furloughed imprisoned internationally renowned human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh on Saturday. Jailed two years ago after being sentenced to 38 years for spying, spreading propaganda and insulting Iran’s supreme leader, Sotoudeh has been dogged by health issues due to a lack of adequate medical care after she staged a six-week hunger strike earlier this year, according to the human rights group, the Center for Human Rights in Iran. Eight years ago, she was jailed on similar propaganda charges and for conspiring to harm state security and was released after serving half of her six-year term. Human rights organizations and international groups have staged a public campaign for her release from prison, especially given the threat of the coronavirus in Iran. Over the past months, thousands of prisoners in Iran have received a temporary release from its overcrowded jails due to the spread of the coronavirus. In 2012, the European Parliament awarded Sotoudeh the Sakharov Prize for human rights.