MEP: "Sakharov-prize for Iranians is support for Iranian people."

Strasbourg, 26 October 2012 MEP: Sakharov Prize is support for all Iranian people Dutch MEP Marietje Schaake (ALDE/D66) welcomes the news that the Sakharov Prize this year will be awarded to the Iranian lawyer and human rights activist Nasrin Sotoudeh and filmmaker Jafar Panahi. Schaake nominated Sotoudeh. "The European Parliament on behalf of all European citizens sends a strong message of support to the Iranian people. These winners are true symbols of the long struggle the Iranian people face every day. The systematic repression, use of violence and censorship are felt by the entire population. This prize gives support to all those Iranians that pay a high price for their struggle for freedom, justice and dignity." Sanctions It is the first time the annual Human Rights Prize of the European Parliament is awarded to Iranian activists. MEP Schaake cautions that the Iranian nuclear programme should not distract international attention of the systematic executions, torture, use of violence and rape inIran. Schaake: "In the midst of the concerns about the Iranian enrichment of uranium we would not forget about the Iranian people. They are the ones who eventually can create a more free and less dangerousIran." This week 10 young Iranian men were executed because of alleged involvement in drug trafficking, bringing the total number of executions this year over 300. Schaake calls on the EU to include more Iranians responsible for the human rights violations on its sanctions list. "The EU needs to focus its sanctions even more." Imprisoned

Nasrin Sotoudeh (Tehran, 1963) was arrested in September 2010 on suspicion of spreading propaganda and conspiring to harm state security. She is currently serving a six-year jail sentence, in solitary confinement, in the notorious Evin prison. In addition she also faces disbarment and a ten-year ban on leaving the country. In the past Sotoudeh defended members of the Green Movement who were arrested during peaceful demonstrations after the disputed presidential elections in 2009. She also fought for women's rights and defended juvenile offenders who where sentenced to death. MEP Schaake: "It is virtually impossible for Iranian lawyers to do their work. With lawyers imprisoned themselves, victims of human rights violations, are left defenseless at the mercy of the Iranian authorities and an already flawed justice system." MEP Schaake hopes that by awarding the Sakharov Prize the situation of Ms. Sotoudeh, Mr. Panahi and all other political prisoners will improve.

Legal assistance Nasrin Sotoudeh is on hunger strike since mid-October to protest against the Iranian authorities that are refusing her young children to visit her. "Nasrin Sotoudeh, her husband and her children are paying a very high price for her belief in the fundamental principles of justice and the unbreakable right to a fair trial. She deserves our full support", Schaake says. ======= In January 2011 Ms Schaake addressed Ms Sotoudeh's case in a plenary debate of the European Parliament.