Payam Darafshan and Farakh Forouzan, Lawyers, Released on Bail

The website of the newspaper 'Etemad' reported the release of Payam Darafshan and Farakh Forouzan, two lawyers, on bail. This media outlet reported on Thursday, September 5, quoting Abouzar Nasrollahi, the lawyer for Mr. Darafshan and Mr. Forouzan, that they were released with bail amounts of 110 and 120 million tomans, respectively. Payam Darafshan and Farakh Forouzan were arrested by security forces on September 9. The reasons for their arrest have not been disclosed, and a conversation between their lawyer and Etemad Online also does not provide information in this regard. However, in recent days, there has been a wave of arrests of human rights lawyers in Iran, with six lawyers arrested in less than two weeks. Ghasem Shole Saadi, Masoud Javadiyeh, and Arash Keykhosravi were arrested on August 18 in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly. Prior to that, Mr. Shole Saadi had announced that he would appear in front of the parliament in protest against the supervisory oversight, inspired by Mohammad Mossadegh. Payam Darafshan is also the lawyer for Arash Keykhosravi, who was arrested on September 9 along with Farakh Forouzan at Mr. Keykhosravi's home. According to Abouzar Nasrollahi, Mr. Keykhosravi has now been transferred from Fashafouyeh prison to Evin prison. Following this trend, Hedi Amidi was also arrested by security forces. Human Rights Watch issued a statement on Thursday regarding these arrests, warning that the Islamic Republic has intensified its crackdown on activists and human rights defenders. This statement, quoting Sarah Leah Whitson, director of the Middle East and North Africa division at Human Rights Watch, says that Iranian officials are further diminishing their domestic and international credibility by imprisoning dozens of lawyers and activists for defending the fundamental rights of citizens. In recent days, Reza Khandan, the husband of human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, has also been arrested. Ms. Sotoudeh, who is currently in prison, has gone on a hunger strike. Abdolfattah Soltani is another prominent lawyer who is currently in prison. In this context, the arrest of a third lawyer in two days has prompted Amnesty International to call for the immediate release of Nasrin Sotoudeh and Reza Khandan. Human Rights Watch: The most prominent human rights lawyers in Iran are now in prison.