Human rights defender Ms Nasrin Sotoudeh sentenced to 11 years in prison

http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/16399 Posted 2011/10/26 Iran: – Further punitive measures taken against human rights defender Ms Nasrin Sotoudeh Nasrin Sotoudeh Prominent Iranian human rights defender Ms Nasrin Sotoudeh has been barred by Evin Prison authorities from having family visits for three weeks, effective from 16 October 2011, as punishment for her alleged refusal to wear a Chador. Further Information According to her husband, Reza Khandan, who has been quoted by the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, "There are no laws that require female prisoners to wear the chador. No prisoners, male or female, are required to wear any particular kind of clothes. They are all allowed to see visitors in their own clothes. Ms. Sotoudeh’s hjjab is always complete, but she does not wear a chador. During the last visit, she came without a chador, as usual. I don’t really know what happened. Whatever it was, they said she is barred from having visitors for three weeks because of her refusal to wear a chador.” This is the latest in a series of punitive measure against Nasrin Sotoudeh and her husband, who is currently being tried at Evin Prison Court for writing a letter of complaint to Teheran's Prosecutor last year in connection with the imprisonment of his wife. Nasrin Sotoudeh is serving a six-year prison sentence handed out after a grossly unfair trial. She was originally sentenced in January 2011 to 11 years in prison on charges including "acting against the national security", "propaganda against the regime" and "membership of Human Rights Defenders Centre". This sentence was reduced to six years in September 2011. For further information on this case, please see the original appeal dated 2011.http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/14190