Download the full open letter (PDF) here.
To:
Ms. Margaret Satterthwaite
UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers
Ms. Mary Lawlor
UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders
Ms. Mai Sato
UN Special Rapporteur on the Islamic Republic of Iran
Mr. Alain Berset
Secretary General of the Council of Europe
Mr. Michael O’Flaherty
Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe
Ms. Roberta Metsola
President of the European Parliament
Mr. António Costa
President of the European Council
Ms. Ursula von der Leyen
President of the European Commission
Ms. Kaja Kallas
High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Commission
Mr. Javier Zarzalejos
President LIBE Committee of the European Parliament
EEAS Iran Division
Amsterdam, 10 April 2026
Re: Urgent call for intervention concerning the renewed arrest of Nasrin Sotoudeh and the
continuing detention of Reza Khandan
Dear Madam, Dear Sir,
The undersigned organisations of the Coalition for the International Day of the Endangered Lawyer express their gravest concern at the renewed arrest of Nasrin Sotoudeh, one of Iran’s most prominent human rights lawyers and one of the most respected members of the international legal community. According to multiple recent reports, during the night of 1–2 April 2026 Ms Sotoudeh was arrested at her home in Tehran by agents reportedly affiliated with the Ministry of Intelligence, her electronic devices were confiscated, and she was taken to an undisclosed location. Her family were not promptly informed of her whereabouts, and the legal basis for her detention has not been transparently communicated.
The Coalition is equally concerned by the continuing detention of Reza Khandan, Ms Sotoudeh’s husband and himself a human rights defender. Mr Khandan has been detained since 13 December 2024 and is currently held in Evin Prison in connection with his peaceful advocacy, including opposition to compulsory veiling rules. His detention, together with the renewed targeting of Ms Sotoudeh, demonstrates a broader pattern of pressure directed not only at a lawyer because of her professional and human rights work, but also at her family because of their peaceful civic engagement.
Nasrin Sotoudeh’s case cannot be viewed in isolation. For well over a decade, she has been subjected to repeated arrest, prosecution, imprisonment, travel restrictions, professional sanctions and other forms of judicial harassment in apparent retaliation for the legitimate exercise of her profession and her peaceful defence of fundamental rights. She has represented political prisoners, women prosecuted for opposing compulsory hijab laws, journalists, religious and ethnic minorities, children facing the death penalty, and other persons at acute risk of injustice. Her arrest in October 2023 while attending the funeral of Armita Garawand, and the international outcry that followed, already showed the determination of the Iranian authorities to punish independent lawyers and human rights defenders who refuse to be silenced.
This latest arrest, taken together with the continuing imprisonment of Reza Khandan, raises serious concerns under the most basic international standards protecting liberty, fair trial rights, privacy, freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and the independence of the legal profession. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention and protects the rights to a fair hearing, privacy, expression, assembly and association. The UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders affirms both the right of every person to promote and strive for the protection of human rights and the State’s duty to protect those who do so. The UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers and the recently adopted Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer require that lawyers be able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference, and make clear that lawyers must not be identified with their clients or their clients’ causes by reason of discharging their functions.
The Coalition therefore calls, in the strongest possible terms, for the following measures:
- The immediate disclosure of Nasrin Sotoudeh’s whereabouts and legal status;
- The immediate and unconditional access for Ms Sotoudeh to legal counsel of her own choosing, to her family, and to any medical care she may require;
- The immediate and unconditional release of Nasrin Sotoudeh, and the dropping of any charges brought against her in connection with her lawful professional and human rights activities;
- The immediate release of Reza Khandan and an end to reprisals against members of Ms Sotoudeh’s family;
- An end to all forms of harassment, intimidation and judicial persecution directed at lawyers and human rights defenders in Iran; and
- An urgent public and diplomatic intervention by the relevant United Nations, Council of Europe and European Union institutions.
An attack on Nasrin Sotoudeh is not merely an attack on an individual lawyer of exceptional courage and integrity. It is an attack on the independence of the legal profession, on the right of every person to an effective defence, and on the very possibility of safeguarding rights through law. The continuing imprisonment of Reza Khandan reinforces the conclusion that the authorities are seeking to silence not only a renowned lawyer, but an entire family identified with peaceful resistance to repression. Such conduct demands a prompt, principled and public response. We respectfully urge you to intervene as a matter of priority.
Yours faithfully,
SIGNATORIES
Avocats Sans Frontières France
Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (Conseil des Barreaux Européens, CCBE)
Défense Sans Frontières – Avocats Solidaires
Democratic Lawyers of Switzerland (DJS-JDS)
Deutscher Anwaltverein (German Bar Association)
European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH)
European Criminal Bar Association
Institut des Droits de l’Homme des Avocats Européens
Institut des Droits de l’Homme du Barreau de Bordeaux
Institut des Droits Humains du Barreau de Bruxelles
International Association of People’s Lawyers
International Association of Russian Advocates
International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
International Observatory of Lawyers at Risk (OIAD)
Lawyers for Lawyers
Lawyers For the Rule of Law
Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada
Magistrats Européens pour la Démocratie et les Libertés (MEDEL)
New York City Bar Association
Orde van Vlaamse Balies (OVB)
Ordine degli Avvocati di Venezia
Ordre des avocats de Genève (ODAGE)
Progressive Lawyers’ Association (ÇHD)
Rechtsanwaltskammer Berlin
Republikanischer Anwältinnen – und Anwälteverein e.V. (RAV)
The Defense Commission of the Barcelona Bar
The Foundation Day of the Endangered Lawyer
The Law Society of England and Wales
Unione delle Camere Penali Italiane
Unione Forense per la Tutela dei Diritti Umani
