Nasrin Sotoudeh vows to launch hunger strike

From the facebook of Reza Khandan, Nasrin Sotoudeh’s Husband: We saw Nasrin yesterday at Evin prison from behind a cabin window. Nasrin was extremely angry about the fact that our request to have a face-to-face visitation with her has been repeatedly denied. She said that if her request for a face-to-face visitation with the children and her mother is once again denied next week, she will launch a hunger strike.

I tried to dissuade her but last night when Haniyeh Saneh Farshi– who has been granted a few days of furlough from Evin– explained to me how much pressure Nasrin has been under as a result of not seeing the children and her mother, I realized that– considering her circumstance– she has every right to make such a decision. Yet, [as her husband] I will continue to try to dissuade her if I can.

It has been 10 months since Nasrin’s ailing mother and brother have been banned from visiting her. And, as per the letter issued by the Prosecutor’s office to the visitation room at Evin prison, they remain banned from any visitation with Nasrin; even from behind a cabin window.

Though it is against the norm, our cabin visitation with Nasrin yesterday coincided with the visitation day for the men in Evin’s ward 350 [the general ward for political prisoners]. A number of the prison guards prevented the visiting family members and the other prisoners present from even waving hello to Nasrin; which turned the atmosphere in the visitation area into a heavily secured environment. Standard greetings between prisoners and their family members and loved ones have always been a normal occurrence on visitation days.

Dr. Ali Reza Rajai and one of Nasrin’s former co-workers, Dr. Ghasem Sholeh Sadi, were the only two political prisoners who managed to approach Nasrin and ask her how she was doing.

The family members witnessing the conditions in the visitation room asked in shock, ” Are your visitations always so brutally restricted and laced with such a heavy security atmosphere?”

English translation by Banooye Sabz has been modified from its original version by Persian2English