January 25, 2019
Reza Khandan, husband of imprisoned human-rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, has been released from custody, and his wife has abandoned the hunger strike she started in part to demand his release.
Khandan has now returned home to resume care of the couple’s two teenaged children.
Lawyer Mohammad Moghimi wrote on Facebook that following Khandan’s release, activist Farhad Meysami also ended his hunger strike.
Moghimi said Khandan was released December 23, but did not provide details on any conditions set for his release.
Khandan was detained September 4 after he complained on Facebook about human rights violations, including the imprisonment of rights defenders like his wife and the prosecution of women who have campaigned against the dress code.
Khandan faced charges of acting contrary to Iran’s national security and promoting “anti-hijab” activities.
Meysami’s hunger strike lasted for 145 days. Sotoudeh began her hunger strike on August 25.
Sotoudeh, 55, was arrested June 13 and ordered to serve a five-year sentence imposed on her in absentia in September 2016 for allegedly carrying out “activities against national security in collaboration with domestic and foreign antirevolutionary elements,” according to Human Rights Watch.
