Prize Winner Soltani Sentenced to 13 Years‘ Imprisonment at Appeal Hearing
In June 2012, Abdolfattah Soltani, winner of the 2009 Nuremberg International Human Rights Award, was sentenced to 13 years‘ imprisonment at an appeal hearing. In March 2012, the sentence was still 18 years‘ imprisonment, followed by a 20 year ban on exercising his profession. In addition, he was to be imprisoned in the city of „Borasjan“, in the south west of Iran, over 1000 km away from Tehran and his family. Unfortunately, the family’s hopes that his banishment might be repealed, were not fulfilled by the sentence at the appeal hearing.
In 2009, Soltani was honoured with the „Nuremberg International Human Rights Award“ for his many years of courageous struggle for the protection of human rights in Iran. At the time, he was prevented from accepting the award in person by a ban on leaving the country.
Now the fact that he was awarded the Nuremberg International Human Rights Award is one of the four reasons for his imprisonment. He was sentenced for „accepting an unlawful award“, „anti-government propaganda“, „meetings and collusion with anti-government intentions“, and „foundation of a centre for the protection of human rights“.
Nuremberg most strongly condemns this sentence
Lord Mayor, Ulrich Maly, expressed his outrage: „I am horrified and outraged about this sentence which stands all principles of law on their head. It show the inhumanity of this regime and proves how helpless the regime is against its critics.“
Just like Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and member of the Nuremberg jury, the city’s Human Rights Office assumes that the intention is to make an example of Soltani as a warning. The uncompromising lawyer had refused to testify against Ebadi and other members of the Human Rights Centre.
Nuremberg protests most strongly against this sentence and demands that the revolutionary court revoke it, and that Abdolfattah Soltani is immediately and unconditionally released from prison.