Amnesty urges Iran to overturn prominent lawyer's jail sentence
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 13 June 2012 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Amnesty urges Iran to overturn prominent lawyer's jail sentence, 13 June 2012, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4fdb2f70c.html [accessed 21 May 2013] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
June 13, 2012
By RFE/RL
Amnesty International has called on Iran to "immediately and unconditionally" release prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani.
Soltani, who together with Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi co-founded a rights center, has been sentenced to 13 years in prison by an appeal court.
Rights watchdog Amnesty says Soltani has been pressured to "confess" on camera that his rights center had received funding from foreign sources to encourage a "soft revolution" in Iran – which the lawyer denies.
Amnesty continues to call on Iranian authorities to allow human rights defenders carry out their work without fear of persecution or harassment.
Soltani who has been in jail since 2010, was first sentenced to 18 years in prison in March.
Several of Soltani's colleagues have been also sentenced to jail.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
