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Nasrin Sotoudeh: Prisoner of the day

Two years behind bars, no furlough

Persian2English: September 4, 2012 marks two years of imprisonment for Nasrin Sotoudeh, prominent lawyer and human rights activist. She has not been allowed furlough during her imprisonment. In a note posted this week on Facebook, Sotoudeh's husband, Reza Khandan, described her arrest.

It was Saturday, September 4, 2010. Nasrin had left early in the morning to follow up on some cases. She returned around 10 o’clock. We went to the courtroom that day along with her lawyer, Ms. Ghanavi, but we weren’t prepared for Nasrin’s arrest. In the scorching heat, there was a large crowd gathered in front of the court, making entry into the building very difficult. Nasrin informed a guard that she had been summoned. “They summoned me. If they can’t facilitate my entrance into the building, then I’ll return home. They can then go through the trouble of sending a car to pick me up,” she said. The guard finally opened the way, and Nasrin went through the large crowd and entered the court. She didn’t have the chance to say goodbye to me. She figured she would return within the hour. She didn’t even say goodbye to the kids.

I had been a bit more pessimistic than her. I considered the possibility that they would keep her in jail and solitary confinement to ensure the pressures of imprisonment and being away from her children would force her to [eventually] leave the country. A few minutes later, Ms. Ghanavi exited the court and informed us that she was not permitted to be present during the questioning period. We left shortly after that but returned later with the hopes she would have been freed by then.

At 2:30 p.m. we were under Yadegar-e Imam Bridge. I ran into the father of one of Nasrin’s clients. He told us, “I tried a lot but I have been unable to reach Ms. Sotoudeh by phone. I thought perhaps it would be better to come here to see you.” He was aware that Nasrin had been summoned. He hid behind a column, hoping to run into us and get news on Nasrin.

It was around 3:30 p.m. when Mehraveh [our daughter] called me sounding anxious, “Dad, a rude man called home and told me in a condescending tone to pass the phone to an elder. His phone number was not displayed. Since I was alone, I hung up on him and unplugged the phone so he would be unable to bother us again. I’m calling you from my cell phone.”

After my daughter had called, I quickly returned home. We went together to pick up Nima [our son] from day care. When we were near home, Nima asked where his mother was. I told him that mom would not be home tonight, that she had gone somewhere. His mother being away for a night was not unusual for Nima. However, the thought that his mother might not be there a second night was terrifying.

Tonight is exactly two years since [Nasrin's arrest]. Mehraveh and Nima have been deprived of their mother’s presence for 740 consecutive nights, not just two nights. Despite all the problems, the children have more or less come to terms with the facts. This is about the strength and resilience of human beings– a fact hatemongers tend to ignore.

Once, when we were returning home from a visit with Nasrin in prison, Mehraveh said: “Dad, the female agents who bring mom into the visit hall are very kind. Today, at the end of our visit, when Nima was saying goodbye to mom, one of the female agents stood in a corner and gently wiped her tears away.”

11-Sep-2012
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more from Ghormeh Sabzi
 
Mammad

Stick with your own heroes, AH

by Mammad on

Nasrin Sotoudeh is a practicing Muslim, believer in Dr. Ali Shariati, and a nationalist-religious lady. She was fasting when she was arrested, and was again fasting when she was brought to the court in the above pictures.

//www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbure...

She belongs to the same groups that you demonize here on a daily basis. She does not need your crocodile tears, using her - a believer in peaceful struggle - to advocate war, sanctions, and destruction against her nation and her people.

Stick with your own heroes: Hosni Mubarak, Ariel Sharon, Netanyahu, Avigdor Lieberman and the fascist-racist faction of Israel's politics.

Mammad


Bavafa

درود بی‌ پایان به خانمِ ستوده...

Bavafa


و ننگ به آنانی‌ که حتی از این شخص محترم برای هدف و منظور خود سؤ استفاده میکنند 

 

Miss Setoodeh, one of the most honorable Iranians who has been fighting and defending the rights of Iranians and as a result has had to stand up to this regime and consequently paying heavily for her firm stands, deserves every person support to secure her freedom.

  My hats off to you Miss. Setoodeh, you are the future of Iran and you give us hope.

'Hambastegi' is the main key to victory 

Mehrdad


Roozbeh_Gilani

even the female prison guard was brought to tears....

by Roozbeh_Gilani on

 Watching this little girl saying goodbye to her mother , who is imprisoned, beaten up,  for no other reason other than not compromising her professional duties as a defence lawyer to meet the demands of  a bunch of murdering, thieving corrupt Islamists who have been plundering our country, it's people and all it's natural resources in the name of their "god" of hate, theft, corruption, rape and murder for the past 34 years...

Unconditional freedom for Nasrin and every single political, religious, ethnic prisoner of Islamist regime should be the demand of all opposition political groups to the fascist islamist regime.


daneshjoo

یار دربندم ، دلم همراه توست

daneshjoo


Daneshjoo

یار دَربَندم،  دلم همراه توست

ملک ایران زنده از فریاد توست

//iranian.com/main/blog/daneshjoo-65 


Fred

Regime change for Nasrin's sake

by Fred on

During the past 34 years, by deed and not word, the reform-proof Messianic Islamist Rapists, “reformers” and all, have proven disregarding human rights is in their dogma’s DNA.

Regime change by Iranians for Iranians with logistical help from the sane world is the only way to end this nightmare.

Backbreaking airtight sanctions plus air/naval quarantine is a must.