Lawyer Investigating Deceased Protester Charged with '9 Counts'

According to reports, Mohammad Najafi, a lawyer who was arrested after his comments regarding the death of Vahid Heydari, one of the protesters from the December protests, has been charged with 9 counts. During the recent protests, a teenager named Vahid Heydari died in a detention center in Arak, with Iranian officials claiming he was 'addicted and had drugs with him' and had 'committed suicide' in prison. Following this, a member of parliament stated that Mohammad Najafi, through local investigations in the village where the deceased teenager lived, 'proved that no one knows him as a drug dealer.' In response to this case, the judiciary has leveled multiple charges against this lawyer. Payam Darvishan, Najafi's lawyer, informed the Human Rights Campaign in Iran that eight charges had previously been 'communicated' to his client, and in the latest interrogation session known as 'final defense,' an additional charge was added, the details of which are still unknown to Mr. Najafi's lawyers. According to Mr. Darvishan, the eight charges communicated to Mr. Najafi include 'forming a group to disturb national security,' 'membership in anti-regime groups with the intention of disturbing national security,' 'propaganda against the regime,' 'insulting the leadership,' 'spreading falsehoods,' 'sending information and news abroad,' 'gathering and colluding to disturb national security,' and 'disrupting public order and comfort' through participation in protests. Mr. Najafi's lawyer stated that there is 'no evidence' for these charges and that they all represent 'one accusation' that has been 'repeated in different forms.' He added, 'For example, gathering and colluding to disturb national security is the same as membership in anti-regime groups with the intention of disturbing national security.' Mr. Darvishan noted that security forces have pressured some detainees from the December protests in Shazand near Arak to confess that Mr. Najafi encouraged them to participate in protests, but they have not confessed. He also reported that the 30-day temporary detention order for his client ended on Wednesday, February 24, but his detention was extended, and he was transferred to the general section of Arak prison. After reports about the death of a young man named Vahid Heydari during the December protests, officials from the Central Province police announced that he was a 'drug dealer' and had committed suicide in prison. However, Mohammad Najafi had denied these claims by the Central Province police. A few days after these statements, he was arrested on January 25 in front of his home. Following this, Mahmoud Sadeghi, a representative from Tehran in parliament, accused security agencies of 'fabricating a case' against a lawyer who had 'proven' that Vahid Heydari was 'not a drug dealer.' Meanwhile, Mr. Darvishan stated that the 'greatest sensitivities' regarding Mr. Najafi relate to his comments about the death of Vahid Heydari. He also announced that the Shazand Intelligence Department has been 'involved with Mr. Najafi for several years' and has 'created several cases against him.' According to Mr. Darvishan, the Shazand Intelligence Department intended to arrest him and Arash Kikhavsar, another lawyer for Mr. Najafi, but later they were told by the Tehran Intelligence Department that 'they wanted to arrest you, but we prevented it.' Due to his activities, Mohammad Najafi has a history of several summonses and arrests, including facing charges of propaganda against the regime on November 7. Mr. Darvishan also reported that simultaneously with Mohammad Najafi's arrest, Kian Sadeghi, Abbas Safari, Gholamreza Qasemi, and Behzad Ali Bakshi, civil activists from Shazand, were arrested. According to this report, Abbas Safari has been released on bail, but other civil activists remain in detention. Meanwhile, the Human Rights Campaign website reported that several other civil activists from Shazand, including Bijan Niu, Alireza Lak, Neda Yousofi, Davood Rahimi, Ghodrat Abdi, Davood Fadaei, Saman Gilani, Borzou Jafari Far, Vahid Moradi, Mehdi Rahimi, Mohammad Abadi, and Javad Mahmoudi have been summoned and interrogated by the intelligence department of this county. Mohammad Najafi's lawyer also announced that the heads of his client and Ali Bagheri, another detained civil activist, were shaved during their transfer to the general section and that they were 'dressed in prison clothes' and 'put in shackles.' Ali Bagheri, a civil activist in Shazand, was also arrested due to his comments regarding the death of Vahid Heydari. He had previously reported that Vahid Heydari's family had been 'threatened.' In this context, a member of parliament reported on 'case fabrication' against a lawyer in connection with the case of the deceased Araki protester, the likelihood of an increase in the number of protesters who have 'committed suicide' in prison.