By Kathryn Maureen Ryan

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called upon world leaders to “seize the opportunity” that his election has created for leaders to engage with the Islamic Republic. In an opinion piece published in the Washington Post on Thursday ahead of next week’s meeting of the General Assembly at the United Nations, Rouhani described his approach to diplomacy as a foreign policy that “seeks to resolve these issues by addressing their underlying causes.” He called on international leaders to “work together to end the unhealthy rivalries and interferences that fuel violence and drive us apart.” Calling on leaders to “pay attention to the issue of identity as a key driver of tension in, and beyond, the Middle East.”

Nasrin Sotoudeh was reunited with her family after being released from prison in Iran ahead of the Iranian president’s trip to the United Nations. (Photo courtesy of the New York Times)

Rouhani’s call for international engagement came just a day after eleven prominent political prisoners, who were detained following the Green revolution protests against the disputed 2009 presidential elections, were released from prison, including Nasrin Sotoudeh. Nasrin Sotoudeh is an internationally renounced human rights layer known for taking on high-profile political cases, she is the winner of the European Parliament’s 2012 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. While in prison she went on hunger strike to protest her prison conditions as the sanctions that were imposed on her family by the Iranian government.

Sotoudeh, who was serving a six year sentence for acting against national security, said “I don’t know why they released me. I don’t know under what legal basis they released me. But I am free.” She had been convicted of spreading propaganda and conspiring to harm the state after she was arrested by authorities in 2010.

The freed prisoners reportedly include eight women and three men including the reformist politician Mohsen Aminzadeh, who was the former deputy foreign minister under President Mohammed Khatami. During the 2009 elections, Aminzadeh was a prominent supporter of Mir Hossein Mousavi, whom many Iranians believe won the popular vote in the disputed elections. Aminzadeh was arrested in 2010 for organising protests and allegedly spreading propaganda against the state system.

There has been no official comment on why the Iranian government made the decision to release these political prisoners. Iran denies that anyone detained in Iran is a political prisoner, and the government claims that all people jailed in Iran are done so in accordance with the state’s laws. However, the release of the prisoners comes just days before Iran’s new President, Hassan Rouhani, visits New York City to for his first speech before the United Nations General Assembly.

Since taking office, he has taken several steps to improve Iran’s global image and has reached out to the Obama Administration in an attempt to build diplomatic ties between Iran and the United States. President Rouhani recently tweeted that while visiting the United Nations, he would like to meet one-on-one with President Obama.

For more information please see;

BBC News – Iran: Nasrin Sotoudeh ‘Among Freed Political Prisoners’ – 18 September 2013

National Public Radio – Iran Frees Political Prisoners – 18 September 2013

The New York Times – Iran Frees Political Prisoners on Eve of President’s Visit to U.S. – 18 September 2013

Al Jazeera – Iran Releases Prominent Political Dissidents – 19 September 2013

The Washington Post – Hassan Rouhani: Why Iran Seeks Constructive Engagement – 19 September 2013

Al Jazeera – Rouhani Urges Leaders to Engage With Iran – 20 September 2013

 

Author: Impunity Watch Archive