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August 18, 2020\u2014Mehraveh Khandan, the 20-year-old daughter of imprisoned human rights lawyer\u00a0Nasrin Sotoudeh, was arrested at her home in Tehran on August 17, 2020, and detained in order to force her mother to end her hunger strike in Evin Prison, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has learned.She was arrested without prior notice on specious charges of \u201cinsult and assault\u201d and subsequently released on bail.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Iranian authorities haven\u2019t been able to silence Nasrin Sotoudeh nor end her brave protest in prison, so now they\u2019re going after her daughter,\u201d said Hadi Ghaemi, CHRI executive director.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe international community should forcefully condemn this thuggish and unlawful behavior,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
CHRI calls on the authorities in Iran to immediately drop all charges against Mehraveh Khandan and to cease punishing the family of Nasrin Sotoudeh in order to silence her.<\/p>\n
The authorities also recently\u00a0blocked the bank account\u00a0of Nasrin Sotoudeh, cutting off funds for the family.<\/p>\n
Husband: Nasrin Will Not Drop Demands for Release of Political Prisoners<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cNasrin said she was expecting the authorities would do something like this so she would drop her demands but she absolutely will not,\u201d Sotoudeh\u2019s husband,\u00a0Reza Khandan, said in an interview with CHRI.<\/p>\n In a phone call from Evin Prison, where Sotoudeh is serving a long prison sentence on sham national security changes, she said she would continue her\u00a0hunger strike\u00a0that began on August 11 to demand the release of political prisoners threatened by the COVID-19 virus.<\/p>\n \u201cNasrin has become very weak and lost a significant amount of weight,\u201d Khandan said. \u201cThursday night [August 13] she became very sick but she didn\u2019t go to the clinic because of its condition and the COVID situation.\u201d<\/p>\n Twelve political prisoners recently\u00a0tested positive\u00a0for COVID-19 at Evin Prison\u2019s Ward 8. Only one was hospitalized while the rest have not received proper medical care. Moreover, only 17 prisoners were tested, while many more have displayed symptoms. With no separation of ill prisoners, there is concern that many have contracted the virus.<\/p>\n Daughter Arrested on Sham Charges Without Notice<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThere was no prior warrant or warning,\u201d Khandan told CHRI. \u201cAll of a sudden five agents showed up today in two cars and a taxi \u2026 I thought they\u2019ve come to arrest me but then I saw Mehraveh\u2019s name on a folder and the agents said they had a warrant for her arrest.<\/p>\n \u201cI said on what charge? They said they were not obliged to tell me but did me a favor and said the arrest warrant is for insult and assault.\u201d<\/p>\n Khandan added that he went to the Evin Revolutionary Court, where his daughter was being formally charged, but was not allowed inside. One of his lawyers, Mostafa Nili, posted 100 million tomans ($23,729 USD) bail on her behalf and gained her release.<\/p>\n According to Khandan, the charges against his daughter are in connection with an incident with a female prison guard a year ago.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s always tension in the visiting hall, especially in the area for face-to-face meetings,\u201d he said. \u201cThe guards always harass [prisoners and visitors] about their clothes or object when we say hello to other prisoners or look at them.<\/p>\n \u201cThe female guards are much more sensitive. Male guards give warnings or hurl insults once in a while but the female guards often interfere and scold you about every little thing.<\/p>\n \u201cSo there\u2019s always a lot of tension and it\u2019s always their fault because they come close to the family tables and inevitably they will complain about something.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was during one of these quarrels that one of the female guards felt insulted and lodged a complaint against Mehraveh. Even if the two got into a physical fight, which they did not, it should have been treated as a fight between two people, with warrants issued in advance followed by a trial.<\/p>\n \u201cThe message is clear: Ms. Sotoudeh you must climb down\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cBut astonishingly they sent a team of Intelligence Ministry and judiciary agents to raid the house and arrest Mehraveh. For what? A verbal argument between two people that happened a year ago?<\/p>\n \u201cThe message is very clear: Ms. Sotoudeh you must climb down and stop your hunger strike. They want to put pressure on her and intimidate the family.\u201d<\/p>\n Khandan added that his daughter was previously banned from traveling abroad at the ages of 12 and 17.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we go forward, these things will surface more often. Haven\u2019t they done these things to the children in the past? Haven\u2019t the children been growing up with their parents behind bars?<\/p>\n \u201cStill, we expect that in today\u2019s world, the authorities will try to save what\u2019s left of their lost dignity. But it\u2019s amazing to see the authorities being so irrational and unwise, even against their own interests.\u201d<\/p>\n Sotoudeh began a hunger strike on August 11, 2020, to demand the release of political prisoners threatened by the COVID-19 virus, which has\u00a0spread\u00a0in Iran\u2019s overcrowded and unhygienic prisons.\u00a0UN experts have expressed great concern\u00a0for Iran\u2019s prisoners and have called for the release of all arbitrarily detained prisoners \u201cbefore it is too late.\u201d<\/p>\n Nasrin Sotoudeh\u00a0is currently behind bars at Evin Prison, sentenced to 38 years in prison for her peaceful work as a human rights attorney, 12 years of which she must serve before becoming eligible for parole. Among her charges were \u201cencouraging prostitution\u201d for advocating against compulsory hijab and defending citizens\u2019 right to peaceful dissent.<\/p>\n