WUNRN
http://www.rferl.org/content/iranian-human-rights-lawyer-vows-to-continue-protest/26711946.html
IRAN –WOMAN LAWYER, EU RIGHTS PRIZE AWARDEE, FORMERLY
IMPRISONED FOR DEFENDING HUMAN RIGHTS, VOWS TO CONTINUE PEACEFUL PROTESTS
AGAINST BAN FROM PRACTICING LAW
The “price of dissent” for women activists, human rights defenders, social justice advocates, continues to challenge their freedom, independence, security, in Iran and many countries of today’s complex world.
Nasrin
Sotoudeh (center, holding flower) demonstrates in front of Iran's Bar
Association last month along with a number of supporters.
By Golnaz Esfandiari - November 26, 2014
Well-known Iranian human rights attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh
says she's determined to continue protesting a decision to ban her from
practicing law.
Sotoudeh started picketing outside the offices of the
Iranian Bar Association in Tehran a month ago, holding signs reading
"right to work" and "rights of dissenters," after the
association, reportedly under official pressure, banned her from working as a lawyer
for three years.
"If my sentence is not overturned, I will keep
protesting until the end of the three-year ban," Sotoudeh told RFE/RL by
telephone on November 26.
She also said the independence of the Iranian Bar
Association must be restored.
Sotoudeh was released from jail last year after serving
half of a six-year sentence on charges that included acting against Iran's
national security and spreading propaganda against the establishment.
Sotoudeh, the co-winner of the European Parliament's
Sakharov human rights prize in 2012, said her peaceful protest had received the
support of many activists and intellectuals in Iran.
"Every day from 9:30 a.m. until 12 p.m., I protest
in front of the Bar Association. I've been joined by many political and social
activists and also social figures," she said.
Sotoudeh added that some of those who have joined her
picket have been pressured by the authorities and threatened with arrest.
Sotoudeh said intelligence officials detained and
interrogated her for several hours on November 25 after she took part in a
gathering against acid attacks targeting women in Isfahan.
"I was asked how long I was planning to keep
protesting and I also heard some threats that day," she said. "[But]
I don't believe that my seven-hour detention on that day was not connected to
my ongoing protest in front of the Bar Association."
The rights advocate told RFE/RL that many passersby had
also expressed support for her actions.
"Sometimes they even say from a distance, 'We're
with you,' and they flash victory signs."
Sotoudeh has gained the respect of many people inside and
outside of Iran for her defiance in the face of state repression.
Before her arrest in 2010, Sotoudeh was involved in
sensitive political and human rights cases.
During her time in prison, she went on hunger strikes
several times to protest her sentence and a travel ban imposed on her daughter.
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