Controversial Action by the Central Bar Association; Issuance of 'Lawyer License' to Notorious Former Prosecutor of Tehran

News sources have reported the issuance of a 'Lawyer License' to former Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi by the board of the Central Bar Association, citing the absence of public reports regarding his ethical status and 'good reputation.' According to Iranian media, Farshid Farahnikian, a member of the board of the Central Bar Association, announced this news on X, stating that the board determined the former Tehran prosecutor was eligible to receive a basic lawyer's license for employment in one of the counties surrounding Tehran based on the lack of effective public and informational reports on his reputation and ethics, as per clause (b) of Article 8 of the Legal Independence Bill of the Bar Association. Article 8 of the Legal Independence Bill addresses cases where individuals can receive a 'Lawyer License' without the usual annual examination and standard procedures. Among other things, clause 'b' of this article states: 'Those who hold a bachelor's degree and have five years of judicial service experience and have not been disqualified by the Supreme Judicial Disciplinary Court.' Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, born in 1957 in Dowlatabad, Isfahan, is a former public and revolutionary prosecutor of Tehran. He has previously held positions such as 'Chief Justice of Khuzestan Province' and 'Head of the Family Court Complex in Tehran.' His appointment as 'Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Tehran' by Sadegh Amoli Larijani was accompanied by many controversies, including events following the disputed 2009 elections, the deadly Kahrizak detention center incidents, and ultimately replacing 'Saeed Mortazavi.' The issue of house arrest for the leaders of the 2009 election protests, dealing with opponents of compulsory hijab, and harsh crackdowns on women in the streets of Enqelab, as well as dealing with protesting dervishes and the detention of civil-political activists, are also prominent in Jafari Dolatabadi's work record. During his tenure as prosecutor, environmental activists in Iran were also arrested. The suspicious death of environmental activist Kavous Seyed Emami in detention and the prolonged detention without trial of other environmental activists are part of his controversial record. The death of 'Sina Ghanbari,' a 22-year-old who was arrested during the protests in December 2017, also occurred during Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi's tenure; a matter that, after a year, Sina Ghanbari's mother claimed her son was murdered in prison.