Ongoing detention of 5 lawyers; Human Rights Commission of Iran Central Bar Association issues a protesting statement
16-August-2021
Category: Uncategorized
15-August-2021
Newsgroup: Freedom of Expression – Women –
Breathing in Confinement: On August 14, 2021, five lawyers, along with two civil activists and a journalist, were arrested at the Association for the Protection of Civil Rights Office in Tehran. Two of them were released a few hours later, and five others are still in custody. In a letter to the head of the Judiciary, members of the Human Rights Commission of Iran Central Bar Association condemned the mass detention of lawyers and civil activists in Tehran and called for the immediate release of all detainees and as well for the prosecution of the detainers.
According to Breathing in Confinement, the news organ of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, following the detention of three lawyers and two civil activists, members of the Human Rights Commission of Iran Central Bar Association wrote a letter to Gholam Hossein Ejehi, demanding the immediate release of all detainees.
The letter states that the detainees, in accordance with Article 34 of the Constitution, were to call for the prosecution of the incompetent authorities who failed to control the Covid-19 pandemic. Before taking any actions however, the agents who introduced themselves as judicial officers, threatened them and ask them to drop their complaint, and eventually arrested them. The letter continues: “This is a clear example of arbitrary detention and obstruction of the right to litigation authorized by Article 9 of the Constitution, and as well the subject to Article 570 of the Islamic Penal Code and is therefore, prosecutable.”
On Saturday, August 14, 2021, 7 lawyers and civil activists were arrested. A few hours later however, Leila Heydari and Mohammad Hadi Erfanian Kaseb were released. Whereas Arash Keykhosravi, Mostafa Nili, Mehdi Mahmoudian, Mohammad Reza Faghihi and Maryam Afrafraz are still in custody.
The signatories of the letter to the judiciary are:
1. Saleh Nikbakht 2. Masoud Hajiani 3. Saleh Noghre Kar 4. Majid Nazemi 5. Mohammad Reza Shakeri 6. Soodeh Lotfi 7. Yashar Kazemi 8. Osman Mozayyan 9.Mehran Mohammadloo.
Arash Keykhosravi: Lawyer and civil activist, was arrested on July 20, 2021, for participating in a rally held in Tehran in support of the people of Khuzestan, and was released after a few hours. Later however, he received a SMS saying that a legal case had been filed against him in Branch 2 of the Evin Court. He was also arrested on a trip to the City of Shazand in Markazi Province, on June 17, when he, along with some other civil activists were going to visit the family members of Mohammad Najafi, an imprisoned lawyer and human rights activist.
Mr. Keykhosravi was the defending lawyer for “Imam Ali Popular Students Relief Society”. He also represented Ali Alinejad; the imprisoned lawyer Mohammad Najafi; the family of Kavous Seydamami, and Reza Malek as well as his son.
In addition, Mr. Keykhosravi, along with Saeed Dehghan, issued a statement last year, criticizing the poor situation of prisoners during the outbreak of Covid-19, as well as the performance of the judiciary. Arash Keykhosravi was also arrested in front of the parliament on August 18, 2018 for protesting against the Guardian Council’s right for unconditional supervision, as well as the “Caspian Sea contract”. He then was released on bail from the Greater Tehran prison on December 11 of the same year.
On February 9, 2020, he finally was acquitted in an appeal court for the charges of “conspiracy against national security as well as propaganda against the regime,” and therefore, his six-year prison sentence was overturned.
Mostafa Nili: He is the defending lawyer of Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi, two detained students at Sharif University. Mr. Nili was also representing five political prisoners: Nahid Taghavi, Somayeh Kargar, Bahareh Soleimani, Mehran Raouf, and Nazanin Mohammadnejad.
Mohammad Reza Faghihi: He is the defense lawyer of Abbas Lesani, Bahnam Sheikhi, Akbar Azad, Alireza Farshi, Hamid Manafi and Siamak Mirzaei.
Mr.Faqihi had also been arrested on October 20, 2019, in Ardabil, on charges of disclosing and publishing confidential Judiciary documents in connection with the case of Abbas Lesani. He however, was released on bail on October 21 and was found not guilty afterward.
Mohammad Hadi Erfanian Kaseb: He was the defense lawyer of Alireza Shir Mohammad Ali, a political prisoner killed in the Greater Tehran Prison. Mr. Erfanian was arrested on April 6, 2021, for his interview with local media in connection with the case of Alireza Shir Mohammad Ali which was republished by Persian-language media abroad. He was released on bail three weeks later, on April 27 and was finally sentenced to three months and five days in prison.
Mr. Erfanian is the defense lawyer of Shahrzad Nazifi (Baha’i prisoner and women motocross champion); Baha’I inhabitant of Eyval village in Mazandaran; Sahba Farnoush; Amrullah Khaleghian, Ehsanullah Amirinia; Nima Rajabzadeh; Arman Bandi Amirabad; Kiana Rezvani; Kimia Mostafavi Maghsoudi (a Baha’i citizens); Raheleh Rahemipour (human rights activist); Marjan Davari (researcher and translator); Amir Ali Moradi (civil activist), and Saha Mortezaei.