Karim Lahidji, FIDH President, receives honorary degree from York University on behalf of Nasrin Sotoudeh

On Wednesday, June 12, Iranian human rights lawyer and writer Nasrin Sotoudeh was awarded an honorary degree from York University.

Imprisoned since 2010 on charges of conspiring against national security, she asked her longtime friend and colleague Karim Lahidji, President of FIDH, to read her message and accept the distinction on her behalf.

Nasrin Sotoudeh is known for her courageous work fighting to protect human rights and promote women’s rights. After graduating from Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran and passing the Bar, she worked on numerous human rights cases, including child and spousal abuse, whilst also defending political dissidents. Among these, she has represented Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi and the families of executed political prisoners. She was also the initiator of the “One Million Signature Campaign”, an attempt to reform Islamic Family Law. Arrested in September 2010, Nasrin was condemned to 11 years in prison. Her sentence was reduced to 6 years in appeal. She spent a long time in solitary confinement in Tehran’s Evin prison. Last year, she went on a long hunger strike to protest against the sanctions imposed on her family members.

Nasrin Sotoudeh has been awarded several international prizes, including one from Italy’s Committee for Human Rights, the US PEN Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award, and the European Parliament’s prestigious Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.