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Dear John,
I have horrible news to share — and an urgent call-to-action.
After just three weeks of temporary release, renowned Iranian human rights lawyer and mother of two Nasrin Sotoudeh has been ordered to return to Shahr-e-Ray “Gharchak” prison by Iranian authorities. She was serving a cruel and unjust sentence of 148 lashes and 38 years simply for defending women’s rights.
Nasrin spent her time outside of prison trying to recover from COVID-19. During this time, she was unable to hug her children. A medical examiner has informed her that she is still sick and contagious with COVID-19. We need your urgent action: Demand Nasrin be freed permanently from prison, and all charges against her dropped.
Nasrin is one of Iran’s foremost human rights activists. Her conviction is directly related to her work as a human rights lawyer.
And her release should have been permanent. Instead, she’ll be forced to return to Gharchak prison, a defunct chicken farm that holds several hundred women convicted of violent offenses in overcrowded and unhygienic conditions. The facility has no access to safe drinkable water, decent food, medicine, or fresh air. Reports indicate high levels of assault towards inmates, as well as rampant drug use and infectious diseases.
John, no one should be imprisoned in such appalling conditions. We must generate massive public pressure on the Iranian government: #FreeNasrin immediately.
More than a million people in more than 200 countries and territories have spoken up in defense of Nasrin since she was first imprisoned, by sending letters to Iranian embassies around the world. Each signature, demanding Nasrin’s immediate and unconditional release, represents someone who is outraged by her cruel sentence and is willing to demand her freedom — someone like you.
With mounting pressure from Amnesty supporters, we won her early release from an earlier imprisonment back in 2013. Then again this November, we helped to secure her temporary release.
Now that she’s been ordered to return, we must continue to fight to ensure that she is released — permanently — and that all the charges against her are dropped. Take immediate action now.
Our impact — our ability to free Nasrin and others just like her — rests on the voices of our supporters around the world.
I hope we can rely on you again.
Thanks in advance for speaking out,
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