Cancellation of Bar Association Elections After 'Pressure to Withdraw' Winners

The elections for the 33rd board of directors of the Central Bar Association were canceled by the Supreme Disciplinary Court of Judges after a 'vibrant' election and the announcement of results. The court's ruling claimed that 'the elections were not held in a healthy environment suitable for the dignity of the Islamic Republic.' Ali Amini, the first elected member, reported 'intense pressure to withdraw' from five winners, including himself, Farideh Ghayrat, Abdollah Samami, Kazem Hosseini, and Hooshang Pourbabayi. The elections for the board of directors of the Central Bar Association were held on October 11 with the participation of a wide range of legal activists and lawyers, receiving 'over five thousand votes' in Iran. According to a report by the newspaper Etemad on Sunday, November 11, 'after the election results were determined, initially two members of the Disciplinary Court branch responsible for vetting qualifications were retired, and subsequently, the ruling to cancel the Bar Association elections was issued.' The report stated, 'Davoodi Mazandarani, the president of the Disciplinary Court, and Elahiari, the head of the second branch of the court, facilitated the holding of the vibrant elections despite some pressures, and when the election results were announced, the presidency of the Disciplinary Court was dismissed, and the head and advisor of the second branch were forced to retire.' Mohammad Hossein Aghasi, a lawyer, told Etemad that 'the loss of independence of the legal profession will cause people to lose their refuge and sanctuary for claiming their rights.' According to him, 'the dispute between the Disciplinary Court and the Bar Association' is that 'the court declares that some of the individuals elected as board members should resign, and when the lawyers did not accept this request and insisted on their votes, the elections of the Central Bar Association were canceled. The ruling regarding the cancellation of the elections by the Disciplinary Court claimed: 'The reasons, evidence, and documents available in the case, including videos, photos, incoming reports, and investigations from informants, indicate that the elections were not held in a healthy and desirable environment for equal competition among all candidates and activities commensurate with the dignity and honor of lawyers and in line with the Islamic Republic of Iran.' The legal advisory group Dadban announced that 'the objection to the presence of independent, activist, and concerned lawyers defending citizens' rights among the elected members of the election was based on issues such as 'truly unfit and untrustworthy elements and seemingly biased towards national and ideological values' and also 'objections to their qualifications being approved by the Supreme Disciplinary Court without regard to the opinions of security institutions' were complaints raised by some regarding the elections. In Bahman 1402 (February 2024), one day before the elections for the presidency of 'Eskoda', the national union of Iranian lawyers' associations, the fifth branch of the Supreme Court, which was supposed to examine the qualifications of election candidates, questioned the legal status of this professional body and canceled the elections. Sina Yousafi, a lawyer, told VOA that this action 'violates the already fragile independence of the Bar Associations' and 'is in line with the infringement of citizens' defense rights.' According to Yousafi, the judiciary of the Islamic Republic had previously 'interfered in the elections of provincial bar associations, bringing the management of the associations under its control and effectively severing the head from the body,' and with the recent actions of the judiciary, 'independent lawyers no longer have a significant role in managing the associations,' and the government wants to 'prosecute and punish people and protesters without any effort.' Furthermore, pressure on the legal community and the actions of intelligence and judicial officials against lawyers in recent years, following lawyers' support for protesters in nationwide protests, have increased, and many of them have been arrested and imprisoned.