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Iranwire – Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, has raised serious concerns about the status of Nasrin Sotoudeh, saying that her arrest and enforced disappearance in Iran amount to a major human rights violation.
The UN official referred to Sotoudeh’s arrest on March 31 by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence, noting that there has been no information about her whereabouts since then. According to Lawlor, at least one other human rights defender has gone missing under similar circumstances.
She described these cases as troubling examples of “enforced disappearance” and called on Iranian authorities to act immediately. She urged the Islamic Republic to release Nasrin Sotoudeh and all those detained for their human rights work without delay.
Nasrin Sotoudeh, a well-known lawyer and human rights activist, was arrested at her home by security forces on the evening of Wednesday, March 31. During the arrest, officials also seized her personal electronic devices, including her mobile phone and laptop.
Her husband, Reza Khandan, who is also a rights activist, has been in prison for more than two years.
A day after her arrest, it was confirmed that the Ministry of Intelligence is the agency responsible for her detention. Nasrin Sotoudeh has been arrested multiple times in the past and has served long prison sentences for her activism.
