Reza Khandan, Sotoudeh’s husband, also spoke of harassment from officials. “We have had ongoing problems in terms of visits, summonses, threats—especially against the family, to which my wife is very sensitive. They pick on my daughter, barring her from traveling abroad.”
He says the authorities have restricted the family’s visits for more than 18 months, and that all political prisoners have been denied phone calls.
He said his wife, who has been in Evin since September 2010, has been denied any furloughs. She is not allowed to hug or touch her children, aged 5 and 12, when they have been allowed to visit the prison.
As a result of all this, she recently started her third hunger strike in protest, he said. It began October 16.
Sotoudeh is serving a six-year term for acting against national security and making propaganda against the regime. Her main crime is believed to be her links to the Defenders of Human Rights Center, which was founded by Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi.
Human rights activists are trying to use social media to raise awareness about the regime’s treatment of Sotoudeh. To show solidarity, they have organized “Tweet Storms” starting October 19 using the hashtag #IamNasrin.
