Iranian terror sentence against human rights lawyer

Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani (37) and Arash Rahmanipour (19) were hanged on 28th January 2010 for the capital crime of Mohareb, or "taking up arms against God," which was based on their membership in the pro-Royalist group, Anjoman-e Padeshahi-e Iran.

As The Los Angeles Times reports today Arash Rahmanipour's lawyer, Nasrin Sotoudeh, was sentenced to eleven years in prison. The L.A. Times: "She aroused the ire of the judiciary when she spoke out about the secret execution of one of her clients, who was convicted of belonging to an outlawed monarchist group and hanged before dawn Jan. 28, 2010, without Sotoudeh's knowledge".

Last Sunday, Nasrin Sotoudeh was convicted of acting against national security and failing to wear the Islamic head scarf, was sentenced to eleven years in prison and banned from practicing law or traveling for 20 years.

The human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh was arrested and placed in solitary confinement in September and has been tortured, according to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran and Sotoudeh's family

Amnesty International's British director, Kate Allen, called her a prisoner of conscience. Five years of Sotoudeh's sentence were for being a member of an outlawed human rights group, even though she wasn't, Allen said.