Nasrin Sotoudeh’s message about the end of the hunger strike

Dear human rights activists,

On July 22, 2020, I began a hunger strike to protest the illegal actions of the judiciary in Iran. After enduring 46 days of hunger and subsequent hospitalization, I unwillingly ended my strike on Friday, September 25th. Perhaps the most obvious outcome of this hunger strike was that it proved how far the judiciary is willing to go to break the law and endanger the lives of its citizens.

I am grateful to the prisoners who participated in the strike with me for days, and some for weeks, during this period. Five of them were from the women’s ward of Evin and Gharchak prisons and five of them were from the men’s ward. Even though they all had individual demands, their main reason for going on a hunger strike was protesting the laws broken by the judiciary, and demanding the release of all political prisoners. I am also grateful to everyone around the world who supported us in our strike.

This has been an opportunity to once again bring the world’s attention to the oppression and injustice Iranian people are enduring. I am thankful to all my colleagues at the French National Bar Association and associations in other countries, the president of the Central Bar Association, and the board of directors who pursued my case. I am grateful to all the Iranian writers and artists abroad. The tyranny in their own country has forced them to face the difficulties of migration and life in exile, and yet they have been making our country proud. They too in a way were protesting with me. I appreciate all the different ways artists, writers, and individuals all over the world have shown their support. Finally, I’d like to thank the invaluable people who run numerous human rights organizations and, despite the freedom in their own countries, do not ignore the situations in the rest of the world.

Once again, I emphasize the legal and legitimate demands of all prisoners on hunger strike. They ask for respect for the laws passed by the Iranian parliament and the release of all political prisoners. I reiterate that the judiciary system is solely responsible for enforcing the law and reducing harsh punishments.

May justice be restored in our country, Iran.

Nasrin Sotoudeh

September 2020

Evin Prison