Following previous reports, it is with much regret to inform you that Lawyers Disciplinary Tribunal of Iran suspended Ms. Nasrin Sotoudeh’s licence. She is barred from practicing law for three years. Nasrin Sotoudeh was previously convicted to six years imprisonment due to her work in defending political defendants and prisoners of conscience. She has received the Sakharov Prize in 2012. Due to the pressure from international community and human rights activists, Iran’s Supreme Leader granted her and few other political prisoners pardon ahead of President Rouhani’s visit to the UN. She was released from prison after three years.
You may already be aware that under Iran’s legislations, lawyers are not free to choose the board of directors of their Bar Association, as a result the board is not the real representative of the members. Due to this fact the Bar Association fails to support its members against the security forces.
Based on above I urge you to support our Iranian colleague Nasrin Sotoudeh.
I look forward to receiving your comments.

Sincerely
Shirin Ebadi
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2003
20/10/2014

Cc:
Dr. Ahmad Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Situation in Iran
The Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders
The Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers
Office of the UN Secretary General
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Righ

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The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)