PEN America condemns the arrest of Iranian activist Reza Khandan

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — PEN America condemned the arrest of Reza Khandan, Iranian activist and husband of leading human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, and demanded his immediate release.

Karin Deutsch Karlekar, Director of Writers at Risk at the literary and human rights organization said in a statement Friday: ''We are appalled at the arrest of Reza Khandan and urge Iranian authorities to release him immediately.

The pro-reform Shagh Daily cited Mahmoud Behzadi Rad, an Iranian lawyer, as saying Khandan was sentenced in 2019 over spreading ''propaganda against the system'' and ''collusion against national security'' and that authorities arrested him Friday to carry out the sentencing.

PEN American said Khandan was sentenced to six years in prison ''for making and distributing buttons protesting Iran's compulsory hijab laws in January 2019.'' Khandan, also a lawyer, was summoned to prison in Feb. 2023, but the order was not enforced at the time, the organization.

His wife, Sotoudeh, is renowned for defending activists, opposition politicians and women prosecuted for removing their headscarves. In March 2019, she was sentenced to a total of 38 years and 148 lashes on a range of charges. Since 2023, she has been out on bail.

According to PEN America's 2023 Freedom To Write Index, at least 49 Iranian writers were arrested for their work last year, making Iran the second-highest jailer of writers in the world after China. Iran is also the world's top jailer of female writers.