Exclusive; Intelligence Agencies' Efforts to Dissolve the Human Rights Commission of Lawyers' Associations in Iran

A lawyer told Voice of America that security agencies and the judiciary's protection information are trying to dissolve the human rights commission of the lawyers' associations, and there is a "danger of dissolution" threatening these associations. Sina Yousofi, a lawyer who has previously been arrested and is currently facing various charges in several cases in different branches of the judiciary in Tabriz and Isfahan, stated on Thursday, November 16, to the Persian section of Voice of America: "Security forces and the judiciary's protection information are putting a lot of pressure to dissolve the human rights commission of lawyers [in Tabriz], and this issue applies to other lawyers' associations as well." He added: "They have practically made it impossible for human rights commissions to carry out their work. This problem also exists in Azerbaijan. They have suppressed the lawyers of this commission, arrested many, and created cases against them." This lawyer also emphasized that "the danger of dissolution" threatens the human rights commissions of lawyers' associations in various provinces. Additionally, the Iran Human Rights Organization reported on the pressures from various intelligence and judicial bodies on Sina Yousofi, Qasem Baadi Bonab, and Amir Mahdipour, three lawyers in East Azerbaijan province. According to the report by the Iran Human Rights Organization on Thursday, November 16, Sina (Hossein) Yousofi, a member of the East Azerbaijan Bar Association, has been summoned to Branch 6 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Isfahan on charges of "propaganda against the regime" and "spreading falsehoods." This lawyer has told the Iran Human Rights Organization that the case opened against him is due to his reporting on the "Isfahan House" case, in which three protesters were executed. Yousofi also stated that the case regarding the charge of "spreading falsehoods" has been sent to "Branch 116 of the Criminal Court 2 in Isfahan," while another case with the charge of "propaganda against the regime" is in the sixth branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Isfahan and "is under review." The report also mentions that in addition to the new case opened against this lawyer, the "Judiciary's Protection Information of Isfahan" has requested the cancellation of Sina Yousofi's lawyer's license, who until October 2022 was the vice president of the human rights commission of this association. Following the arrests of citizens during nationwide protests after the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police, Sina Yousofi took action to form a "Committee for the Defense of Detainees" in the "Human Rights Committee of the Bar Association" and was subsequently arrested by the repressive forces of the Islamic Republic. He was charged with "forming an illegal group, propaganda against the regime, and spreading falsehoods" and was released from Tabriz Central Prison in November 2022 after posting bail. In this case, Sina Yousofi was sentenced to "six months of imprisonment," "91 days of imprisonment," and "15 million tomans in fines." This human rights lawyer, in response to these pressures and regarding the necessity of lawyers' independence, stated: "In the face of executions, killings, and the repression of peaceful protests by the people of Iran, the repetition of [reports on] the systematic repression of lawyers is important because the Islamic Republic intends to make defenseless people even more defenseless against its dependent judicial apparatus through threats, pressure, and repression of lawyers. Therefore, the firm support of the people for lawyers and the independence of the legal profession is not only necessary but should also be placed at the core of the people's freedom-seeking struggles." Suspension of Amir Mahdipour's Lawyer License The Iran Human Rights Organization also reported on the "suspension of Amir Mahdipour's lawyer license," another member of the East Azerbaijan Bar Association, due to "defending detainees of the 2021 protests." This lawyer, who was arrested during the nationwide protests of 2021, stated that his lawyer license has now been suspended and that the disciplinary court of lawyers has sentenced him to five months of prohibition from practicing law. He pointed out that the detention of lawyers defending detainees has a cost for the government, stating that "the Judiciary's Protection Information and the Intelligence Department" have referred several lawyers who "sought to defend the rights of detainees" to the disciplinary prosecutor of the East Azerbaijan Bar Association, and "this prosecutor, through various means including threats and bribery, forced them to cease their activities. In other words, the disciplinary prosecutor of the Bar Association has become one of the tools of the regime's repression during the nationwide uprising against the Islamic Republic." Mahdipour also emphasized that "security agencies and the judiciary" had pressured the then-prosecutor of the disciplinary court of the East Azerbaijan Bar Association "due to his disregard for their illegal requests." He added: "During the nationwide uprising for women, life, freedom, the former prosecutor of the Bar Association was forced to resign due to the pressures and attacks imposed on him by the judiciary's protection information and the then-board of directors. He had previously informed me that the judiciary's protection information wanted to revoke my and several other lawyers' licenses due to our support for popular protests." The Iran Human Rights Organization reported that "the Judiciary's Protection Information" in December 2022, "before the resignation of the former prosecutor of the disciplinary court of the Bar Association," had sent a list of lawyers supporting detained citizens to the disciplinary prosecutor of the East Azerbaijan Bar Association and requested that the prosecutor pursue disciplinary action against these lawyers. Amir Mahdipour also stated that Akbar Rezapour Fard, who has been introduced as the new disciplinary prosecutor of the Bar Association, "does exactly what is dictated to him by the Judiciary's Protection Information," and that the Islamic Republic has turned the court and the disciplinary prosecutor of the Bar Associations into tools for repressing independent lawyers and human rights defenders. Charge of "Violation of the Lawyer's Oath" for Qasem Baadi Bonab This report also mentions the "preparation for the revocation or suspension of Qasem Baadi Bonab's lawyer license due to his support for popular protests." According to the report, Qasem Baadi Bonab, a lawyer, university professor, and member of the human rights commission of the East Azerbaijan Bar Association, who "was arrested after forming the Committee for the Defense of Detainees during the nationwide protests in October 2021," was sentenced in the first branch of the revolutionary court in Tabriz to five months of imprisonment and a two-year travel ban for the charge of propaganda against the regime. Additionally, "Branch 112 of the Criminal Court 2 in Tabriz sentenced this lawyer to three months and one day of imprisonment and an eight million toman fine for inciting people to riot." The Iran Human Rights Organization announced that the disciplinary prosecutor of the East Azerbaijan Bar Association, "in clear collusion with the repressive government of the Islamic Republic, issued an indictment" against this lawyer, accusing him of "violating the lawyer's oath" and "requested the disciplinary court of the Bar Association to subject him to disciplinary prosecution." Qasem Baadi Bonab emphasized that during his legal career, he has had "no disciplinary violations" and that he is facing these pressures simply because he, along with several of his colleagues, announced that he was "willing to accept the defense of detainees, including those who cannot afford to pay legal fees." He, who has also been banned from teaching at the university after his arrest, stated that due to his "efforts to form a committee for the defense of detainees during the nationwide protests," he was interrogated daily for ten days at the "Intelligence Department of Tabriz." Pressure on lawyers has increased following the start of nationwide protests and the defense of detainees by lawyers. Following the onset of nationwide protests in late September 2021 after the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police, dozens of lawyers in Iran were arrested, and the judiciary opened cases against several others. Some legal experts have warned about the deviation from the law in the judiciary of the Islamic Republic in dealing with detainees of the nationwide protests. For instance, in December of last year, 45 lawyers and human rights defenders emphasized in a letter to Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, that "only the swift reaction of the world’s public opinion and democratic and freedom-seeking governments and influential humanitarian figures can stop the execution and repression machine of the Islamic Republic."