Iranian Lawyer Receives German Human Rights Prize

Abdolfattah Soltani

An Iranian human rights activist has traveled to Germany to accept an award from the Nuremberg Human Rights Center.

Abdolfattah Soltani told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that his organization -- the Iranian Center to Defend Human Rights -- has been defending Iranian political and social activists "mistreated by Iran’s judiciary system" for about a decade.

Soltani is a lawyer and his NGO defends Iranians free of charge.

Prominent Iranian human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi is also a member of that NGO.

Together with her, Soltani represented the family of Iranian-Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi, who died in suspicious circumstances in Iran's Evin prison in July 2003.

Soltani himself was imprisoned because of his activities in 2005.