Summoning of a Lawyer Due to Explanation of Legal Rights of Protesters

Babak Paknia, a lawyer, announced that he has been summoned to the disciplinary prosecutor's office of the Central Bar Association due to his explanation of the rights of detainees from the nationwide protests of 2022. On Tuesday, February 8, he stated on the social media platform X that the Supervisory and Inspection Office for Lawyers, based on a report from the Protection and Information Department of the Judiciary's Advisory Center, deemed his explanations regarding 'the Criminal Procedure Code and the explanation of the rights of defendants during the 2022 protests' as 'conduct unbecoming of a lawyer' and requested prosecution against him. According to the notification received by Babak Paknia, the charge attributed to him is 'conduct unbecoming through activities on social media,' and he must appear within 10 days from the date of the notification to defend himself against this charge at the disciplinary prosecutor's office of the Central Bar Association. The Islamic Republic, coinciding with the onset of nationwide protests in Iran on September 17, 2022, detained at least 44 lawyers and later sentenced some of them to prison, disbarment, and other social deprivations. Among the detained lawyers, Maryam Arvin, who was defending detained protesters in Kerman province and was herself arrested as a result, suspiciously died a few days after her temporary release. The mother of this lawyer later announced that the cause of her death was 'a connection to an IV' in prison. Pressure on lawyers and legal experts and the fabrication of cases against them by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran has intensified in recent years and continues. For instance, the Central Province Court of Appeals sentenced Behnam Nezadi, a lawyer and member of the Central Bar Association, to imprisonment and disbarment on charges including 'spreading falsehoods' and 'disclosing confidential information.' Additionally, sources close to Mohammad Reza Faghihi reported that he was transferred to Evin Prison in Tehran on Tuesday, February 2, to serve a five-year prison sentence. Social media users have called for the release of a protesting couple in Tehran, and prison sentences and other penalties have been issued for two lawyers in Tehran and Mashhad. The reactions of users to the deaths of Mogheiseh and Razini have been characterized by accusations of biased judgment and cruelty.