Amnesty calls on Iran to release human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh News
© WikiMedia (Hosseinronaghi)
Amnesty calls on Iran to release human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh

Amnesty International [advocacy website] called on [Amnesty report] the Iranian government Wednesday to release prominent human rights lawyer, Nasrin Sotoudeh, whom the government had arrested on unknown charges.

Recently, Sotoudeh had advocated against Article 48 of Iran’s 2015 Code of Criminal Procedure [text]. A note to Article 48 requires that individuals charged in serious criminal cases and in cases of political dissidence choose a defense lawyer that is pre-approved and listed by the judiciary.

Earlier this year, Sotoudeh was prosecuted for participating with other women in a peaceful protest of the compulsory veiling [Amnesty report] law in Iran. Sotoudeh was also sentenced to six years in prison in 2010 for speaking out against the government but released early in 2013 on a pardon.

In 2012 Sotoudeh received the Sakharov award [European Parliament press release] for her activism in the sphere of human rights.

The Iranian government’s action against Sotoudeh follow a trend in the government’s treatment of activists with recent criticism [JURIST report] by UN human rights experts earlier this year for its treatment of imprisoned human rights defenders Atena Daemi and Golrokh Ebrahimi.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Montgomery started racially-integrated bus service after boycott

On December 21, 1956, buses in Montgomery, Alabama, started racially integrated service following federal court rulings ending on-board segregation. Bus boycott leaders Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and Rev. Ralph Abernathy were among the first riders under the new scheme. Learn about the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Stalin born

On December 21, 1879, Joseph Stalin was born in Gori, Georgia. In 1922, he became leader of the USSR until his death in 1953. During his time as Soviet dictator, Stalin industrialized his country, which he then led to become one of the world's two superpowers after WWII. Through his infamous purges, show trials and nationwide famines, Stalin also became responsible for millions of deaths.