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Senators call for release of 'unjustly imprisoned' women in Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia

Democratic lawmakers condemn four Middle Eastern states for the politically motivated imprisonment of a number of women and call for the prisoners' release.

Nasrin Sotoudeh protest
Supporters of Amnesty International campaign for the release of Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh by observing her 56th birthday in front of the Iranian Embassy in The Hague, Netherlands, on May 31, 2019. The human rights lawyer was previously sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes for appearing in court without the hijab Islamic head covering and for another offense. Sotoudeh won the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize in 2012 for her work on high-profile cases, including those of convicts on death row for offenses committed as minors. — ROBIN UTRECHT/AFP via Getty Images

A group of Democratic senators introduced a resolution Tuesday condemning four Middle Eastern states for the unjust imprisonment of women. 

Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sponsored the resolution along with eight other Senate Democrats, including Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. 

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