Nasrin Sotoudeh’s Husband Summoned to Evin Prison Court

Reza Khandan, husband of prominent Iranian lawyer and human rights activist Nasrin Sotoudeh, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that he was summoned to Branch One of Evin Prison Court, stating that he has to appear at Branch One within seven days.  “This is the same branch to which I was summoned two weeks after Ms. Sotoudeh’s arrest.  [When I appeared at the court,] most of what they talked about was about my pursuit of my wife’s arrest and interviewing with the media.  I don’t know whether the reason for my new summons is the same issue, or it is for other reasons,” Khandan told the Campaign. “Fortunately, we have regular booth visits and telephone calls, and Ms. Sotoudeh’s mental state is good.  The only problem we have is that she is not allowed to have in-person visits with her children.  All our visits are through the booth, and Nasrin doesn’t want her children to see her under those conditions,” Reza Khandan told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. “During these entire four months, my children were only able to see their mother for about five minutes.  Nasrin’s family members and I have been able to see her during booth visits or during her court appearances, but my children have never found this opportunity.  Last Thursday, I had taken my son along [to the prison visiting hour], to see whether they would allow the child to see his mother for a few minutes.  But they said it is not possible to have an in-person visit.  I said ‘we won’t go inside.  Please let the child go by himself and see his mother for a few minutes,’ but they still did not allow it.  Seeing their mother through a booth is not in the best interests of neither of them, and will most definitely affect the children’s mental state,” Khandan added. Nasim Ghanavi, one of the lawyers representing Nasrin Sotoudeh, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that Sotoudeh’s court has issued its ruling, but her lawyers have not yet been served with the document. Nasrin Sotoudeh was arrested on 4 September 2010, and has remained in solitary confinement at Evin Prison since then.  She has also embarked upon three long-term hunger strikes during her detention to protest her prison conditions.