Shajarizadeh is a former Iranian political prisoner and women's rights leader who was freed by human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh. She is a Senior Fellow at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights.
The lawyer who saved my life was just
sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes in Iran.
I first met Nasrin Sotoudeh — an
internationally renowned human rights lawyer, and our country’s foremost campaigner for women’s rights and against child executions — when I was being harassed and violently intimidated by Iran’s intelligence services. My crime? I had removed my headscarf in public and put the video online, in protest of Iran’s forced hijab law and the stifling control over women’s bodies and choices that it represents.
I finally felt empowered, being part of this
White Wednesday movement in Iran, where every Wednesday women would courageously defy the regime in removing their headscarves, or wearing a white shawl in support of those who did, and which quickly grew into a near daily event. I was an ordinary woman, partaking in an extraordinary movement.
For this, I would go on to be
arrested a total of three times last year. I was beaten and brutalized in prison, my only breaks from the psychological torture of solitary confinement. It was the most frightening experience of my life — not just the pain — but that I felt so alone, suffering in solitude.
But then Nasrin showed up. She told me that my struggle is her struggle — the struggle of all Iranian women — that I am not alone, and that she would not relent until I am free. Knowing Nasrin was there for me gave me solace and sustained me through it all. She courageously protested, spoke to the media, and navigated the complex and opaque Iranian legal system on my behalf.
After my third arrest and imprisonment for removing my headscarf, I was told by Iranian Intelligence that when (rather than if) I’m convicted I would never see my 8-year-old son Barbad again. They had already detained Barbad with me the last time; seeing him in handcuffs broke my heart. So when Nasrin got me out on bail, I immediately fled the country with my son, and my trial proceeded without me. Nasrin informed me that throughout the trial, the judge refused to hear my side and had already made his mind up. My fate was predetermined, as it had been for so many of the women who stood trial before me. However, unlike those women — and thanks to Nasrin — I was safely outside the country with my son when my 20-year
sentence was handed down. Today, I live in exile in Canada, where I am seeking asylum.
As dramatic and draconian an outcome it may seem, Nasrin was unsurprised, given her experience representing human rights defenders in Iran. She had understood that such cases could not be won in the courthouse, but only in the court of public opinion. That is why she
revealed my prosecutor’s name to the press and
exposed his record of repression, demonstrating that he was more a persecutor than a prosecutor.
Nasrin was then herself arrested in June, three days after representing me at my trial. This persecutor had sought his revenge, and filed a criminal complaint against her for her courageous conduct in my case. Intelligence officers showed up unannounced at her home and brought her to the notorious Evin prison in Tehran. While her initial arrest was based on the complaint of the prosecutor in my case, once they had her in detention, further false and fantastical charges were added.
Among her
charges were membership in human rights organizations and women’s rights activism, for which she was accused of “propaganda against the state” and “encouraging prostitution.” She was also accused of “appearing at the judiciary without Islamic hijab.” It is true that Nasrin has attended court without a headscarf, in an expression of solidarity with me. It is also true that she is a member of human rights organizations, including groups united in defense of women’s rights, persecuted minorities, political prisoners, peace, and against capital punishment. But these realities attest to her virtues, not crimes.
Nasrin’s trial was conducted in absentia and did not respect any basic rights to a fair trial. Now she is facing a sentence of 38 years in prison and 148 lashes.
On Saturday March 9, in honor of International Women’s Day, I marched for Nasrin alongside thousands of women of all cultures and creeds in Canada, where I currently live. I was in awe as they raised their voices freely, without fear. For now, we can hardly dream of such marches in Iran.
I looked back on my first White Wednesday in Iran, when my heart beat faster than it ever has and remembered the shadow of fear cast by the authorities. I was struck by the contrast with my new home. I am now surrounded by women who feel free to be themselves; that day, I marveled at how we marched together in solidarity and sisterhood. I felt grateful not only to be free, but for the ability to assemble and protest for those who are not.
When I was in prison, Nasrin was my only hope. She did everything in her power to liberate me. I’m only able to raise my voice freely today because of her tireless advocacy on my behalf.
That’s who she is — Nasrin cannot remain silent in the face of injustice. And neither should we.
While countries were quick to condemn her imprisonment — with the
U.S.,
U.K.,
E.U.,
France, and
Canada issuing statements — only a day after news of Nasrin’s conviction broke, they outrageously allowed Iran to
assume leadership in the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, where it will now
oversee all allegations of abuses against women. Not only does this protect the impunity that allows for Nasrin’s unjust imprisonment, but it effectively rewards Iran for it. Their silence at the U.N. speaks louder than their statements for Nasrin, and abandons her and other women to the terrors of Tehran’s torturers.
The world must instead send a clear message: Iran will not be treated as an equal member of the international community if it does not treat women as equal members of humanity. They certainly must not be allowed to lead in these institutions, so long as women leaders like Nasrin languish in prison. Countries should use their clout at the U.N. and other international organizations to pass resolutions calling for Nasrin’s release, and remove and block Iran from leadership positions until it does so.
Nasrin should be the one occupying international positions of leadership on women’s rights, which she had promoted so effectively in Iran. France’s President Macron recognized this in
appointing her to the G7 Advisory Council on Gender Equality, sending a personal letter to Iranian authorities expressing the esteem in which he holds her. Other G7 leaders — such as Germany’s Angela Merkel, and Canada’s Justin Trudeau, the founder of this Council — should do the same. Whether from governments or the grassroots, civil service or civil society, other international groups should similarly send Nasrin a public invitation to play a role in their work. Not only could they benefit from her wisdom, as I did, but they could offer her lifesaving attention and protective cover from her jailers.
We all know who these jailers are. We will never forget the names of those who arrested, prosecuted, sentenced, and tortured us. Nor will we forget those who instructed them to do it. These individuals should not be allowed to travel and enjoy the freedoms abroad that they deprive Iranian women of at home. Democracies should use
Global Magnitsky laws to issue targeted sanctions against these officials who are abusing human rights. We and can start with those involved in Nasrin’s unjust imprisonment.
But our most powerful tool is freedom, which remains out of reach for so many around the world, and especially for Nasrin, despite her dedicating her life to protecting it. We must use our freedom to help Nasrin secure hers. Whether on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, or in public protests and
petitions, we must
be her voice.
In doing so, we will give Nasrin the lifesaving message she had given me, and so many others: you are not alone.
Source: TIME, Opinion, Shaparak Shajarizadeh, March 20, 2019
Iran: Details of Nasrin Sotoudeh's 33-year Prison Verdict
Iran Human Rights (IHR); March 19, 2019: Reza Khandan, husband of the imprisoned lawyer and human rights defender Nasrin Sotoudeh, published the details of her recent court verdict.
In sum, Nasrin is sentenced to 33 years’ imprisonment and 148 lashes in the case for seven charges.
Based on Article 134 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, the charge with the highest penalty will be taken into account; this means that Nasrin Sotoudeh should serve 12 years in this case. She was sentenced to five years of imprisonment for another case in August 2018.
According to the handwritten copy of the verdict in which Nasrin Sotoudeh gave to her husband, she is sentenced to 7 years and 6 months of imprisonment for “gathering and conspiracy in order to commit a crime against the country’s security”, one year and 6 months for “propaganda against the system”, 7 years and 6 months for “being member of the anti-death penalty group LEGAM (Step by Step Toward Abolition of the Death Penalty), 12 years for “encouraging corruption and debauchery” because of her support for those women who protest against the compulsory hijab, 74 lashes for appearing without hijab in public, 3 years imprisonment and 74 lashes for “spreading false information to disturb public opinion,” and 2 years for disturbing public order.
The verdict which was issued by branch 28 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, states that Nasrin Sotoudeh signed a call for a referendum to choose the type of political system in Iran. This is despite the fact that the Iranian Constitution allows referendums in “very important economic, political, social and cultural matters.”
Moreover, the court considered interviewing with foreign media as a crime. Another of Nasrin Sotoudeh’s «crimes» according to the court verdict was delivering a speech in front of the UN building in Tehran in favour of the abolition of the death penalty.
It is mentioned in the verdict that Nasrin Sotoudeh has 20-days to appeal the verdict. However, Nasrin’s husband told Persian media that she is not going to appeal because she does not recognize the court as a legitimate one. Nasrin did not go to the primary court for the same reason and the verdict was issued in absentia.
Iran Human Rights (IHR) strongly condemns the Iranian authorities’ intensified crackdown on the human rights defenders exemplified by the grossly unfair prison and flogging sentence issued against Nasrin Sotoudeh and calls for an immediate reaction by the International community. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of IHR said: “We specifically call on the EU to act. The situation of the human rights defenders in general and Nasrin Sotoudeh, in particular, must be resolved before any other dialogue and negotiations between the Islamic Republic and the EU can continue.”
Source:
Iran Human Rights, Staff, March 19, 2019
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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
