Iranian jailed lawyer, Nasrin Sotoudeh was tried for the charge of “failure to adhere to the Islamic dress code (hijab)” and sentenced to five days in prison after she protested to the court proceedings.
Sotoudeh’s husband, Reza Khanadan had reported before that in addition to the earlier charge of activities against national security, Iranian judiciary is pressing the fresh charge of failure to cover her hair (which is required by Islamic Republic public dress code regulations) against Nasrin Sotoudeh.
Khanadan maintained that having been awarded a prize by an Italian human rights organization, Sotoudeh recorded a video message of appreciation in which she was not wearing a head scarf. The message was sent abroad and never viewed in Iran; however, it is now being used as evidence against Sotoudeh.
Nasrin Sotoudeh protested against the court’s refusal to allow her colleague to attend the session despite the fact that the court was supposedly an official proceeding, Khandan told Persian BBC. Sotoudeh then refused to answer the judge’s questions for which she was sentenced to five days in prison.
Sotoudeh has been under arrested since September 4 and charged with activities against national security. Her lawyer maintains that the prosecution for the charge of failure to adhere to hijab should not be carried out in a Security Court.
Nasrin Sotoudeh who has been held in solitary confinement since her arrest has gone on hunger strike twice to protest against the illegality of the proceedings against her.
Nasrin Sotoudeh is a prominent Iranian lawyer whose practice was largely focused on human rights cases. Prior to her arrest, she was working on the files of several political prisoners of the post-election events in Iran.
