Mohsen Barahani Before Arrest: The IRGC Intelligence Requested 20 Years of Imprisonment for Me

Mohsen Barahani, a lawyer supporting the "Women, Life, Freedom" protesters and a supporter of Masoud Pezeshkian in the presidential elections, stated in an interview before his arrest that the Legal Deputy of the IRGC Intelligence had requested a "20-year imprisonment" for him last June. In an interview published on Tuesday, July 9, on the website of the newspaper Etemad, Mr. Barahani said that since October 2022 and the beginning of the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement, security institutions such as the Judicial Protection Organization have been seeking to fabricate a case against him in the Special Clergy Court. The Etemad newspaper reported that the beginning of the crackdown on this lawyer occurred after the killing of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini while in the custody of the Islamic Republic's Guidance Patrol, and that "during criticisms of the hijab enforcers" and the "Noor Plan," it led to a prison sentence against him. Mohsen Barahani was arrested. Ahmad Barahani, the brother of this lawyer, used the term "arrest" in an Instagram story on July 7, stating that this action was taken despite "many ups and downs" and "remaining issues in the case." However, the Mizan news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Republic's judiciary, reported on Sunday without details that Mohsen Barahani was "summoned for the enforcement of a legal court ruling and introduced to prison." In his pre-arrest interview, Mohsen Barahani stated that the first case against him was opened after his criticisms of "harsh and illegal behaviors such as hijab enforcers, shop closures, vehicle confiscations, and confrontations with students and professors" regarding hijab enforcement by the Intelligence Protection of the Police Command. Mr. Barahani also mentioned that in his indictment, he was convicted of "propaganda against the regime, spreading falsehoods, and behavior contrary to the dignity of the clergy." He also stated in this interview: "If I were to be given a prison sentence, it should have been 91 days, and 13 months and 16 days of imprisonment according to the law is a mistake." In recent years, Iranian judicial and security officials have exerted significant pressure on lawyers who criticize the usual judicial practices in Iran. According to the "Committee for Following the Status of Detainees," in January 2023, only about three months after the "Women, Life, Freedom" protests, 43 lawyers were detained by security agencies. The severe government crackdown and the danger of protests becoming 'underground' are evident in the accounts of doctors and eyewitnesses regarding the injured in the protests.