Legal Representation in Iran; Defenders in the Position of the Accused

The wave of arrests and prison sentences for lawyers in Iran, along with criticism from human rights defenders, is a recurring story in the history of the Islamic Republic; from a few months after the 1979 revolution when several members of the Bar Association were arrested and their licenses revoked, to today, 40 years later, this trend has continued more or less. Arrests and prison sentences for lawyers; lawyers who all share a common concern for human rights and their commitment to the oath of advocacy. Lawyers who are summoned, arrested, convicted, and imprisoned due to their professional activities, namely accepting the defense of political and ideological prisoners and advocating for human rights, yet remain steadfast in their positions. Individuals such as Nasrin Sotoudeh, one of the most prominent lawyers in Iran, who has been in custody since June 13 and has been accused of multiple charges; from 'conspiracy against national security' and 'propaganda against the regime' to 'supporting women protesting against compulsory hijab' and 'membership in the Legam campaign', which is a campaign for the gradual abolition of the death penalty. Nasrin Sotoudeh has denied these accusations and has therefore refused to accept a bail of 650 million tomans. Mohammad Moqimi, Sotoudeh's defense lawyer, states that his client has not appeared in court due to being deprived of the right to choose a lawyer, and her case has not yet been referred to court. Previously, in September 2010, Nasrin Sotoudeh was also arrested and sentenced to six years in prison and a ten-year ban from practicing law on charges of 'acting against national security and propaganda against the regime'. This lawyer was eventually released after serving three years in prison in 2013, and her ban from practicing law was reduced following her protests. Amir Salar Davoodi, another lawyer, was arrested on November 20 by security agents in his office and has not yet been able to meet with his defense lawyer. This lawyer, who has represented several political and ideological prisoners, including Baha'is, has also been summoned and interrogated multiple times in the past. According to Vahid Meshghani, his defense lawyer, Davoodi's criticisms of the judiciary and the current situation in the country may be reasons for his recent arrest. Judicial officials have not yet allowed Meshghani to review his client's case, but he states that based on the information he has, his client is likely accused of 'conspiracy against national security', 'propaganda against the regime', and 'insulting the leadership'. Mohammad Najafi, another lawyer in Arak, who is also facing multiple charges in several legal cases, was recently sentenced to ten years in prison in his third case in Branch One of the Revolutionary Court in Arak. Accordingly, Najafi's total sentence is 14 years, two years of which is definitive. 'Exchanging news and information through interviews with foreign media to hostile governments' is one of the main accusations against him in this case; while according to Payam Darafshan, his defense lawyer, this charge does not exist in Islamic Penal Code, and the reason for its introduction is the 'sensitivities' surrounding Najafi's reporting on Vahid Heydari. Najafi was arrested in December 2017 after reporting on Vahid Heydari, a protester who died in custody in Arak. Iranian judicial authorities claimed he was a drug dealer and stated that he committed suicide in prison, while Najafi announced after meeting with the family of the young protester and conducting investigations that Heydari was not a drug dealer and did not commit suicide in prison. Other accusations against Najafi include accepting the defense of several recent protesters regarding economic conditions, which the judge has deemed as 'hostility towards the regime'. Najafi has also been sentenced to one year in prison for 'spreading falsehoods in cyberspace with the intent to disturb public opinion'. This lawyer has been sentenced to three years in prison and 74 lashes for 'disrupting public order through participating in gatherings' and 'spreading falsehoods', and has been in prison since November 6 to serve this sentence. Payam Darafshan, his defense lawyer, states that the lash sentence has not been executed due to his diabetes. Qasem Shole-Sadi and Arash Kikhavsari, two other lawyers, were recently sentenced to six years in prison each in Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salavati; five years for 'conspiracy against national security' and one year for 'propaganda against the regime'. Meanwhile, Mohammad Hossein Aghasi, Shole-Sadi's defense lawyer, argues that the protest actions of these two lawyers do not constitute 'conspiracy against national security'. He considers this accusation 'incorrect' and 'contrary to Article 610 of the Islamic Penal Code'. The handling of security and political cases in the Revolutionary Courts and the process of adjudicating political and ideological prisoners has been criticized by some of these lawyers in recent months and years. Another issue that some lawyers criticize is the recent decision by the judiciary to establish a list of 'trusted lawyers' for accepting cases in security matters; this is while there is still no clear definition of security crimes, and the determination of such crimes is left to the judge. The arrest and sentencing of lawyers in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran is not new, but this trend intensified after the controversial elections of 2009. Abdol-Fattah Soltani, Mohammad Seifzadeh, Mohammad Oliaei-Fard, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, Javid Hootankian, Mohammad Mostafaei, Farakh Forouzan, Masoud Javadiyeh, Hossein Ahmadinejad, and Hedi Amidi are among several other lawyers who have been summoned, arrested, and imprisoned in recent years. Some of these lawyers have been released after serving their sentences, others are currently free on bail, and several have been forced to leave Iran after multiple summons and facing security charges, hoping to experience the meaning of advocacy and justice elsewhere in the world.