Nasrin Sotoudeh is an Iranian lawyer and human rights activist who has been called "Iran’s Nelson Mandela." Sotoudeh is a longtime opponent of the death penalty, advocate of improving imprisonment health conditions, and an activist dedicated to fighting for the rights of women, children, religious and ethnic minorities, journalists and artists, and those facing execution.  

For this important work, she is the recipient of the 2023 Brown Democracy Medal, marking the award’s tenth year. She is also the subject of the 2020 documentary Nasrin, by filmmakers Jeff Kaufman and Marcia S. Ross. Kaufman and Ross will accept the Brown Democracy Medal on Sotoudeh’s behalf.