Fears are growing for the health of detained Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh following fresh details of the violent circumstances of her arrest and current physical condition.
Sotoudeh was among several women who were arrested at the funeral in Tehran on Sunday of teenager Armita Geravand, who died after allegedly being assaulted as they arrested her for not wearing Iran’s obligatory veil.
Sotoudeh’s husband, Reza Khandan has revealed that a group of some 50 police and security personnel charged at the mourners gathered at the funeral, beating some and dragging others across gravestones as they were arrested.
Following a subsequent prison visit, Khandan reported that Sotoudeh had said that she was covered in bruises, that the back of her head remained swollen, and that she was experiencing a prolonged headache.
New York-based freedom of expression champion PEN called on the Iranian authorities to transfer Sotoudeh access to hospital withou delay.
“Sotoudeh suffers from a pre-existing heart condition, the result of previous prison hunger strikes, and must be transferred immediately from Qarchak, where health services are rudimentary, unsanitary, and there is no specialist doctor, to a specialized care facility,” the body said in a statement released on Thursday.
In the same statement, PEN also noted the plight of recent Noble Laureate Narges Mohammadi who has been denied access to her lawyer and medical care for a heart condition because she refused to wear the veil to leave the women’s section of the jail.
Sources
Iran: Fears Grow For Detained Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, Bruised & Back Of Head Swollen
