 On May 17, 2007, Iranian human rights activist and Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, who has known Esfandiari for many years, called for Esfandiari's immediate release and announced that she would be acting as one of Esfandiari's attorneys, along with Abdolfattah Soltani.The prosecutor of the Islamic Revolutionary Court, however, prevented Esfandiari from access to counsel, refused to provide detailed information regarding the charges against her, and refused on two occasions to allow her mother to visit her in prison.Two days later, it was announced that the Middle East Studies Association of North America had written to Ahmadinejad expressing concern over Iran's detention of Esfandiari and other scholars.