Letter Stavros Lambrinidis for Nasrin Sotoudeh, Javid Houtan Kian, Abdolfattah Soltani, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah - 22/04/2013

Letter Stavros Lambrinidis (EU Special Representative for Human Rights) on the cases of lawyers iranians Nasrin Sotoudeh, Javid Houtan Kian, Abdolfattah Soltani and Mohammad Ali Dadkhah



Dear Ms. Ribecco,

Thank you for your letter of 4 March 2013 regarding the cases of Ms. Nasrin Sotoudeh, Mr. Javid Houtan Kian, Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani and Mr. Mohammad Ali Dadkhah.

The European Union is well aware of the cases you mention and of the dire situation for human rights lawyers in Iran. It continues to focus on supporting human rights lawyers. As part of this effort, several statements have been made by the High Representative Catherine Asthon.

Concerning the cases of Ms. Nasrin Sotoudeh and Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani, the High Representative issued a statement on 15 September 2011, in which she called upon the Iranian authorities to release them immediately and to allow them to exercise their rights freely. This followed an earlier statement by the High Representative from January 14, 2011, which expressed her dismay about the arrest of Ms. Nasrin Sotoudeh and calling for her release.

For its part, the European Parliament awarded the 2012 Sakharov Prize of Freedom of Thought to Nasrin Sotoudeh, jointly with film-maker Jafar Panahi. I had the opportunity to meet with representatives of the award winner in Strasbourg and to inform them of the EU’s continued support and efforts on their behalf.

The case of Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani has also been mentioned in two statements by the High Representative in 2012, on March 13 and June 21 respectively, in which the High Representative expressed her concerns about the verdict of Mr. Soltani and called on the Iranian authorities to release him immediately.

On the case of Mr. Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, the High Representative issued a statement on July 26, 2011. In this statement, the High Representative expressed her concerns over the difficult conditions for human rights lawyers in Iran. She also called on Iran to respect its international obligations, which would warrant a review of the case of Mr. Dadkhah.

Moreover, the European Union has raised the above mentioned cases, plus the case of Mr. Javid Houtan Kian with the Iranian authorities and continues to call on the Iranian authorities to drop all charges against these individuals and to release them. It will continue to closely follow all relevant cases and to remind the Iranian authorities to respect its international human rights obligations.

Sincerely yours,

Stavros Lambrinidis
EU Special Representative for Human Rights