Iran: Sentencing of human rights defender Ms Shadi Sadr
On 17 May 2010, human rights defender Ms Shadi Sadr was sentenced to six years of imprisonment and 74 lashes. Shadi Sadr is a prominent human rights lawyer and women's rights defender, and co-founder of Zanan-e Iran (Women of Iran), a women's rights organisation.
Further Information
On 17 May 2010, a court in Tehran found Shadi Sadr guilty of “acting against national security and harming public order” and sentenced her to six years imprisonment with 74 lashes.
The charges relate to Shadi Sadr's participation in a rally within the framework of the “One Million Signatures Campaign” on 4 March 2007 outside a revolutionary court, where four fellow feminists were on trial. She was arrested along with 30 other protesters and held in Evin prison for 15 days.
During her detention, Shadi Sadr was held in solitary confinement, subjected to ill-treatment, denied access to a lawyer, and interrogated on a number of occasions without a lawyer being present. Shadi Sadr, who is currently abroad, intends to appeal the decision.
On 17 July 2009, during the crackdown on activists and human rights defenders in the aftermath of the 2009 presidential election, Shadi Sadr was arrested by plain clothed men who did not identify themselves as she walked to Friday prayers with other women's rights activists, and briefly detained in Evin prison. Front Line issued urgent appeals in relation to her previous arrests on 5 March 2007 and 21 July 2009 respectively.
Front Line believes that the sentencing of Shadi Sadr is a direct result of her legitimate work in defence of human rights, particularly with respect to women's rights. Front Line sees this as part of an ongoing campaign of harassment against Shadi Sadr.
This Urgent Appeal has now ended. No further action is requested at this point. Thank you for taking action on this case.
Front Line issues Urgent Appeals on behalf of human rights defenders at risk on a daily basis. These Appeals normally remain active on our web site for a period of up to six weeks, depending on the situation. After this time they will be archived. Front Line maintains a watching brief on all these cases but no further action is requested after the six weeks, unless there is a significant development in the case.
