Iran Videos: Judiciary's Larijani on Detained Sotoudeh and on US Hikers

In his public-relations tour in New York, Mohammad Javad Larijani, the head of the human rights section of the Iranian judiciary, explains to NBC television that attorney Nasrine Sotoudeh was detained in early September as "a threat to national security". The threat? "She indulged in propaganda against Islam."

Larijani continues that, if she was an intellectual, Sotoudeh could indulge in this propaganda by writing books, but a lawyer "should respect the law".

For more on Sotoudeh, see the June 2009 interview posted in a separate entry.

(Note: the video is "sticking" at the 1:26 mark. We will keep eyes open for a full, unaffected copy.)

In the second video, Larijani sets out a careful position on the three US hikers detained in July 2009. He indicates that Sarah Shourd, released in September, will not be required to return for trial, as he does not see evidence of wrongdoing. However, speaking about the still-detained Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, he is more cautious. He hopes to get a resolution soon as it would be "easier" to settle matters before a trial, but if a trial begins, it should "continue to the end".

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