In a televised interview on Tuesday, the secretary of Iran's High Council for Human Rights noted the recent human rights campaigns against Iran, saying that “every now and then, a western country leads such campaigns and this time apparently, France has taken the lead.”
“The European Union and Parliament have not only extended their sanctions but also they have taken a stance with regard to an Iranian convict, called Nasrin Sotoudeh. Such a campaign against Iran is not new and will not be the last one either;” Larijani added.
“France along with other European governments questions the reason of her imprisonment and the revoke of her attorney-ship license. She is accused of crimes such as provoking others to break the law, riot-like gatherings, the commission of offence in public, etc.”
Referring to Sotoudeh’s previous crimes; Iran’s HR chief explained that she has been convicted to five years in prison before. “As she was doing her time,” he added, “she has been actively involved in creating new chaos inside the prison and continued acting against the law.”
“We respect judges’ verdicts and do not interfere in their job. We believe that the due process of law has been ensured.”
Violating the principle of non-interference in other countries' domestic affairs, French President Emmanuel Macron recently demanded the release of jailed Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh. Macron’s statement follows his invitation of the jailed Iranian lawyer to take part in the G7 gender equality forum last month.
Nasrin Sotoudeh has been sentenced to imprisonment by the Iranian judiciary for seven different crimes. For security reasons, the Judicatory system has not published the details of her case yet. But according to Larijani, she was found guilty by the primary court.
“She has introduced two lawyers to the court and it is possible that her punishment might be revised by the appeal court.”
Criticizing the propaganda by western countries about Sotoodeh’s case, Iran’s HR chief added: “Western countries have added all the punishments from her seven different crimes and announced a total punishment of 33 years; while she was sentenced to seven years in prison by the primary court.”
“The French president has claimed that the legal procedure in her case has been unjust; however, justice is defined according to our laws not theirs. They ask why her license has been annulled; because a lawyer, who has sworn to obey the law and defend her clients based on that, must not break the law and if she does so, she cannot be considered a lawyer anymore”, Larijani added.