11:01, 20 March 2019

Armenian human rights defenders support Nasrin Sotoudeh

Nasrin Sotoudeh. Photo Hosseinronaghi - https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Сотуде,_Насрин#/media/File:Nasrin_Sotoudeh.jpg

Armenian rights defenders and activists have held an action at the Iranian Embassy in Armenia in support for Iranian rights defender Nasrin Sotoudeh. They demanded to release her and stop persecuting women because of their refusal to wear hijabs.

For many years, Nasrin Sotoudeh, an Iranian lawyer and rights defender, has fought for the rights of Iranian women and abolition of the death penalty; she defended the rights of journalists, oppositionists and activists, and also defended the rights of those sentenced to death for committing their crimes when minors. In June 2018, she was put in a women's prison in Tehran.

About 20 people took part in the action, the "News.am" reports.

Nasrin Sotoudeh has been sentenced in Tehran to 33 years in prison and 148 lashes. Given the previous sentence, which she is currently serving, her prison term will last for 38 years.

"We call to release the rights defender, who was deprived of liberty for her activities. We hope to be heard by the Iranian authorities, who won't follow the radical path and won't turn their country into another North Korea," the "Epress.am" quotes Arman Garibyan, one of the protesters, as saying.

"I came to support her so that she knew that people are concerned about her fate," said Vardges Gaspari, an engineer.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 20, 2019 at 07:11 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.