Iran: Human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh arbitrarily arrested amid intensified crackdown

On the night between 1 and 2 April 2026, Nasrin Sotoudeh was arrested at her home in Tehran by agents believed to be affiliated with the Ministry of Intelligence. According to her relatives, who went to her home shortly after her arrest, the agents confiscated electronic equipment, including mobile phones and laptops belonging to her and her husband.

Shortly after her arrest, Nasrin Sotoudeh was able to make a brief phone call to her sister, during which she confirmed that she had been arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence, before the call was abruptly cut off. Her current whereabouts remain unknown, which raises serious concerns about her safety and conditions of detention.

At the time of her arrest, Nasrin Sotoudeh was on leave from prison on medical grounds. According to her lawyer, her continued activism and public engagement despite these restrictions may have led to her arrest. In recent days, she had publicly raised concerns about executions in Iran and the situation of political prisoners, which may have further contributed to her being targeted. On 28 January 2026, Ms Sotoudeh co-signed a statement with several other individuals strongly protesting the killing of protesters earlier that month and holding the then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the ruling system responsible for those deaths. Several of the co-signatories are currently imprisoned or facing judicial proceedings.

Nasrin Sotoudeh has also been outspoken against the armed conflict involving Iran over the past year, notably in relation to tensions and hostilities with Israel and the United States. Following the June 2025 attacks, in the context of escalating military confrontation between Iran and Israel, she stated: “We do not want wars under any name”. On 31 March 2026, she gave an interview to an overseas media outlet in which she criticised the Iranian authorities’ failure to provide adequate protection to civilians, including the lack of shelters, from recent US and Israeli military strikes.

The Observatory and LDDHI recall that Nasrin Sotoudeh has been subjected to relentless judicial harassment for over a decade in connection with her human rights work. She has been repeatedly targeted, arrested and convicted on charges widely denounced as arbitrary, including a 2019 sentence of 33 years in prison and 148 lashes imposed by Branch 28 of the Tehran’s Islamic Revolution Court. In October 2023, she was again arrested while attending the funeral of Armita Garawand, a 17-year-old girl who died under controversial circumstances, and was released on medical grounds two weeks later following international pressure. Her husband, Reza Khandan, himself a human rights defender, has been detained since December 2024 in connection with his involvement in the design and distribution of badges bearing the slogan “I oppose compulsory hijab”.

The Observatory and LDDHI further recall that the arrest of Ms Sotoudeh takes place in a context of intensified repression in Iran, including a rise in executions and arbitrary arrests. The situation of other arbitrarily detained human rights defenders is also of serious concern, in particular Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, whose health has reportedly deteriorated in detention amid the denial of adequate medical care.

The Observatory and LDDHI strongly condemn the arbitrary arrest of Nasrin Sotoudeh, which appears to be solely motivated by her legitimate and peaceful human rights activities.

The Observatory and LDDHI express their deep concern over her physical and psychological integrity, particularly given the current context of heightened repression and insecurity in the country.

The Observatory and LDDHI urge the Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Nasrin Sotoudeh and to guarantee her access to legal counsel and medical care. The two organisations also call on the authorities to put an end to all acts of harassment against her and all human rights defenders in Iran.

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The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this programme is to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.

The League for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran (LDDHI) was founded in Paris in March 1983, following the forced closure of the “Iranian Association for the Defence of Human Rights and Liberties” (established in 1977) in 1981, and the departure of its leaders into exile. Since its establishment, LDDHI has consistently reported and campaigned against human rights violations in Iran, concentrating on the abolition of the death penalty in Iran, women’s rights, freedom of political prisoners, rights of religious and ethnic minorities, freedoms of expression, assembly and association among others. LDDHI has been a member of FIDH since 1986.