Amir Salar Davoodi: "I will return to prison for ethical reasons towards the bail guarantor"

Amir Salar Davoodi, a lawyer who was temporarily released from prison after posting bail, announced that he would return to Evin Prison following a call from the prison prosecutor and the "harassment" of his bail guarantor. Mr. Davoodi, a member of the Central Bar Association, stated that he had been "temporarily released" from Evin Prison on "March 13, 2023". He mentioned that prior to his release, judicial authorities had taken an "unlawful action" by obtaining a request for an extension from him in advance, but the duration of the extension remained unspecified and was not even communicated to him. He added that he had been informed that the leave was "extended until March 17", but the duration of the extension had not been communicated. This imprisoned lawyer announced that he would return to prison on Thursday, April 28, explaining that he could not delay his return for more than 10 days due to "ethical reasons towards the bail guarantor" and the "unpredictability of the judicial system and the lack of adherence by some security judicial officials to legal provisions." He noted that the "Evin prison prosecutor's officials" had not reported his absence of more than 10 days, while on the other hand, "twice in a strange and even more strange and unlawful manner, they harassed my very dear bail guarantor by phone." Amir Salar Davoodi, a human rights lawyer serving his sentence in Evin Prison, was granted leave at the end of the previous year. Previously, he had been sentenced to 30 years in prison and 111 lashes in the 15th branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran in November 2018 and June 2019; however, this ruling was changed in the 36th branch of the Tehran Court of Appeals. According to the appellate court's ruling, Amir Salar Davoodi was sentenced to two years in prison for "insulting the leadership", two years for "disturbing public opinion", and ten years for "forming an anti-security group". He was temporarily released from Rajai Shahr Prison in June 2021 after two years and seven months of imprisonment, but was arrested again in July 2022 after visiting the Evin Prosecutor's Office to review his case and was transferred to prison to serve the court's sentence. In June 2023, Amir Salar Davoodi won the Ludic Terrario Award, which his wife, Tanaz Kolahchian, and his young daughter received on his behalf at a ceremony.