Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh was arrested in front of the interior ministry in Tehran during a protest against acid throwing, her husband Reza Khandan reported on his Facebook page.
“Today after a sit-in in front of the Lawyer’s Supervisory Board, Nasrin accompanied a group of her peers to join a protest in front of the interior ministry in support of women assaulted with acid and against the lack of government action. Upon their return, they were all arrested and they were all released after being identified. But Nasrin remains in custody without any judicial order.”
Giti Pourfazel, Abbas Jamali and Peymon Aref and Farid Rohani were reportedly some of the other lawyers present at the protest.
Reports from Tehran indicate riot police were highly visible along the main arteries of the city. The political deputy of Tehran security forces has been quoted as saying: “We are also very concerned about the acid throwing in Isfahan and condemn such action; however, there can be no demonstrations in Tehran without first getting permits.”
In recent weeks, a number of women have been assaulted with acid on the streets of Isfahan, and while the authorities maintain they are hard at work identifying the perpetrator(s), the public has been showing its outrage with mass gathering in Isfahan and Tehran.
