RFE/RL – Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Iran Bans Human Rights Lawyer From Practicing Law

October 19, 2014

A prominent Iranian human rights lawyer says she has been banned from practicing her profession for three years.

Nasrin Sotoudeh said October 19 that a Tehran court made the decision based on the demand of a court based at Evin Prison, where she was released last year after serving half of a six-year sentence for "actions against national security and committing propaganda against the regime."

Sotoudeh told AFP that she would not try to appeal the decision but will conduct a sit-down protest outside the Iran Bar Association's headquarters in Tehran, starting October 21.

A court last month authorized Sotoudeh -- who won the European parliament's Sakharov human rights prize in 2012 -- to resume her practice.

She has defended journalists and rights activists including Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP