diff --git a/lib/packages/docutils/rst.nim b/lib/packages/docutils/rst.nim
index adac167774..7ee071c79f 100644
--- a/lib/packages/docutils/rst.nim
+++ b/lib/packages/docutils/rst.nim
@@ -363,6 +363,7 @@ proc addNodes(n: PRstNode): string =
   addNodesAux(n, result)
 
 proc rstnodeToRefnameAux(n: PRstNode, r: var string, b: var bool) =
+  if n == nil: return
   if n.kind == rnLeaf:
     for i in countup(0, len(n.text) - 1):
       case n.text[i]