Iran frees political prisoners ahead of Hassan Rouhani's UN visit

Award-winning women's rights activist Nasrin Sotoudeh among those freed ahead of trip to United Nations in New York

theguardian.com, Saeed Kamali Dehghan, Wednesday 18 September 2013

Nasrin Sotoudeh fell foul of the authorities after representing activists and
 highlighting the execution of juveniles in Iran. Photograph: MIHAN NEWS
AGENCY / HO/EPA

Iran has released the award-winning human rights lawyer, Nasrin Sotoudeh, and several other political prisoners from jail a week before President Hassan Rouhani's visit to New York for the UN general assembly, in what appears to be the most tangible sign of change so far under his moderate administration.

The authorities drove Sotoudeh from Evin prison in Tehran to her house in another part of the Iranian capital and told her she did not need to return to jail.

"They were quite certain this time that I'm freed and I don't need to go back," the 45-year-old women's rights activist told the Guardian by phone from her home.

Opposition website Kaleme reported that seven other women political prisoners have also been released from prison in the past 24 hours, albeit conditionally, including journalist Mahsa Amrabadi.

At least four men, including reformist politicians Feizollah Arabsorkhi and Mohsen Aminzadeh, who was a deputy foreign minister under Mohammad Khatami, were among those told that they did not need to return to jail.

"In the past, when I was granted prison leave they used to give me a document, this time they gave me nothing," said Sotoudeh, who last October was awarded the European parliament's most prestigious human rights award, the Sakharov prize for freedom of thought, previously won by Aung San Suu Kyi and Nelson Mandela.

"My goals and mentality are the same as before, I haven't changed," Sotoudeh insisted, adding that like other lawyers she would still work "to restore justice and defend the rights of protesters".

Sotoudeh fell foul of the authorities after representing several political activists, including those arrested after Iran's disputed 2009 election, and highlighting the execution of juveniles in her country.

Following her arrest in September 2010, she was initially sentenced to 11 years in jail for "propaganda against the regime" and "acting against the national security", but an appeals court later reduced the sentence to six years.

Prominent international human rights organisations have said that charges against Sotoudeh were fabricated and politically motivated. Iranian authorities are believed to have been infuriated by Soutoudeh's representation of Shirin Ebadi, a colleague and Iranian Nobel peace prize laureate living in exile.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) welcomed Sotoudeh's release. "News of the release of Nasrin Sotoudeh and several other political prisoners is a welcome development, but the burden is on Tehran to prove that this is more than just a symbolic gesture," Faraz Sanei of HRW told the Guardian.

"If the Iranian government is truly serious about real reform it needs to take immediate and concrete steps leading to the unconditional release of hundreds of other political prisoners currently languishing in Iran's prisons. It also needs to ensure that those who are freed will not continue to suffer targeting at the hands of security forces and judicial authorities."

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"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“…  8 - The End of War

The last one is the best. For thousands of years on this planet, Human Beings have warred with each other. If you take a look at the reasons they warred with each other, you will quickly see there aren't any good ones - land, resources, greed. Those are not reasons. That is a description of old energy. Those are not reasons. Reasons would be perhaps defense against an aggressor. But what if there is no longer the consciousness of the aggressor?

When I appeared in my partner's life more than 20 years ago, I said to him privately that the first messages we're going to give will be unbelievable. There would be laughter. We told him that Human nature and consciousness itself would change, and that the seeds of peace would be planted and there would come a time where there is no more war. Indeed, the laughter was great because humans look at history and they see patterns based on an absolute energy called Human Nature. "Impossible! There always has to be war. There always has been. Therefore, there always will be." This is you, in a box, in a black and white potential, where you can only see the black and white of what is and the black and white of what has been. You have no idea the shades of color that are there in your consciousness and the beauty of the love of God.

North Korea is on the edge of change, as we told you it might be. What did this require? The death of the old energy, and I want you to watch this take place. The advisors of the young leader are going to do their best to pull him back into an old energy. This free choice of his will be far different than his father, for he sees some color. Watch for these things. They'll take longer than you want, but it is the beginning of the beginning.

You'll see a fresh unification of South America sooner than not, for what is going to take place potentially this year in Venezuela. You'll see Iran changing. We have no clock. These are the potentials. These can change with free choice. These are not prophecies. This is a reality shift, dear ones, so number eight becomes the propensity not to war again. This is what Humans are going to want. This is what governments are going to want. There is a wisdom factor that will begin to happen on the planet that is grander than what you think is possible. For when you look at government, what do you think about? You see dysfunction, and there is an axiom that says the more people that try to do something together, the worse it gets. It all settles to the lowest common denominator. I'm telling you even those things are going to become old energy concepts. Instead, you're going to watch wisdom become the top potential.

I have no clock. I cannot tell you when. I can just tell you it is in the works, and there will be the seeds of it for you to observe soon - right now, in every single of the eight categories I showed you.

There are those who will say, "Well, Kryon, you're doing a lot more predictions than you used to." I want to tell you what's going on, dear one. I am not predicting anything. I am just telling you what's already there in the potential soup of your reality. That's what Humans are doing on this planet, and for those who believe this communication, you should breathe a sigh of relief and say, "It's about time." ….”