UNHCR 'Extremely Concerned' About Jailed Iranian Activist

The husband of hunger-striking Iranian lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, seen here in a 2008 photo, reportedly said her health has reached a critical stage.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) has voiced "extreme concern" about the reportedly deteriorating health of jailed Iranian activist Nasrin Sotoudeh.

Sotoudeh has been on a hunger strike since October 17 to protest her prison conditions and a travel ban imposed on her family.

A statement from the commissioner's office on December 4 quotes Sotoudeh's husband as saying that her health had reached a critical stage.

Sotoudeh is currently serving a six-year sentence on charges believed to be linked to her work as a lawyer and rights defender.

She has spent almost three weeks in solitary confinement.

Sotoudeh won the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought for 2012, along with countryman Jafar Panahi.

The United Nations, the European Union, and international rights groups have called for her release.