Iranian human rights lawyer jailed for 18 years
Source: AP
A prominent Iranian human rights lawyer has been sentenced to 18 years in prison by a Tehran revolutionary court, his daughter said on Sunday.
Abdolfattah Soltani was also banned from exercising his profession for 20 years and will be sent to a remote prison where it will be difficult for his family to visit him, Maede Soltani told the Associated Press. "It is a harsh and heinous sentence. The trial was completely politically motivated," she added.
Soltani, 58, co-founded a human rights group with Iranian Nobel Peace prize laureate Shirin Ebadi. He was arrested last year and has been held in Tehran's Evin prison.
Her father's lawyer was informed of the sentence on Sunday, but her family do not know when the court made its ruling, Maede Soltani said. The family will seek to appeal against the ruling. "We hope this unfair sentence will be overruled," she added.
Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/04/iranian-human-rights-lawyer-jailed
= new reply since forum marked as read
