Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, freed yesterday from a six-year prison sentence for ‘conspiring against state security’ has said she will continue to campaign for ‘a proper judicial system’.

Sotoudeh, winner of last year’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, was among a batch of political prisoners released apparently as part of diplomatic overtures between Iran and the US.  

Her imprisonment in 2010 prompted widespread protests in the international legal community. She told the BBC World Service that her release was unexpected. ‘It was only outside the prison walls that they told me I was free.’ 

Sotoudeh is known for taking on high-profile political cases in Iran. She said she planned to ‘continue with my activities as before, in order to establish a proper judicial system in my country’.