WS:

“I realize they had arrested me for my work on human rights, the defense of women’s rights activists, and the fight against the death penalty. Still, I will not be silenced.”

With this courageous cri de coeur, human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh launched her hunger strike. Imprisoned yet again in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison, Sotoudeh is both the embodiment of the struggle for human rights in Iran, as well as the symbol of the Iranian regime's massive domestic repression.

She represents—both legally and figuratively—the hundreds of Iranian citizens imprisoned and imperiled, tortured and tormented, for nothing other than exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of expression and human dignity.

Even among the remarkable individuals who have dared to confront the Iranian regime, Sotoudeh stands out for her courage and commitment. "Nasrin is fearless in taking on tough cases that other lawyers would carefully avoid," said Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who is herself one of Ms. Sotoudeh's former clients.

Sotoudeh’s advocacy has included being a leader in the struggle for women's rights amid the persistent and pervasive assault against women, most recently serving as lawyer to Iranian women imprisoned for protesting against the compulsory hijab; a leader in the struggle against child executions, where Iran has executed more minors per capita than any other country in the world; a valued defender of journalists and bloggers at a time when Iran continues to jail journalists with an alarming alacrity; and a lawyer to otherIranian lawyers who became political prisoners, until becoming one herself.

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