Iran has arrested prize-winning rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, says her daughter

By AFP 2 April 2026, 4:17 pm

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This photo shared by Mehraveh Khandan shows, from left, Nima Khandan, Mehraveh Khandan, her mother, prominent human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, and her father Reza Khandan in their home in Tehran before the arrest of her father Reza Khandan in 2023. (Mehraveh Khandan via AP)

Iranian authorities have arrested the prize-winning rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, her daughter says, as activists accuse the Islamic Republic of cracking down on civil society during the war with Israel and the United States.

“Mum was arrested last (Wednesday) night while she was alone at home,” her daughter Mehraveh Khandan writes on Instagram.

Sotoudeh, who won awards including the 2012 Sakharov Prize of the European Parliament and the 2020 Right Livelihood award, has been repeatedly arrested in the past for her work. Her husband and Mehraveh’s father, Reza Khandan, has been held in prison since December 2024.