UN Resolution Ramps Up Cross-Regional International Pressure on Iran’s Human Rights Crisis

(21 November 2011) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran welcomed the resolution concerning Iran’s grave human rights violations, adopted today by the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly (GA).

“We embrace the adoption of this resolution and encourage UN member states to continue focusing international attention on Iran’s dismal rights record,” said Campaign spokesperson Hadi Ghaemi.

Soltani To File Suit Against Javad Larijani for False Terrorist Accusation

One day after Mohammad Javad Larijani claimed that distinguished human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani, who is currently inside Evin Prison, was connected to terrorist groups, his wife, Massoumeh Dehghan, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that Soltani has never faced such an accusation and that he and his lawyers will be filing a lawsuit against Larijani for the false accusations he leveled against her husband.

“His Continued Detention Is Neither Moral Nor Legal,” Says Soltani’s Wife

Massoumeh Dehghan, wife of human rights lawyer and founding member of Defenders of Human Rights Center Abdolfattah Soltani, who has been inside Evin Prison’s Ward 209 for the past two months, spoke with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran about her husband’s condition. “Last Thursday I was able to see Mr. Soltani for about ten minutes. He had lost some weight and was complaining about remaining in prison in a state of limbo. It is really unfair to keep someone in prison for a long time and tell him that ‘it takes a long time to read his case file.’ If they have a reason for his detention, they must present it to the court as soon as possible. Continuing this situation is neither moral nor legal,” said Dehghan.

Nasrin Sotoudeh’s Disbarment Court Session Cancelled

In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Reza Khandan, Nasrin Sotoudeh’s husband, said that the second court session reviewing her disbarment was cancelled. “My wife’s second court session at the Tehran Bar Association was scheduled for Sunday, 18 September, but she was not transferred from prison to court, and the the court session was not held, naturally. Of course the prison authorities had previously informed the court officials that Ms. Sotoudeh would not be brought to court today, but I don’t know why. They just told me that the prison authorities have announced that Ms. Sotoudeh would not be transferred to the court session,” he said.

“One of His Charges is ‘Receiving an Illegal Prize,’” Says Prominent Lawyer’s Wife

Massoumeh Dehghan, wife of lawyer and co-founder of Defenders of Human Rights Center Abdolfattah Soltani, expressed concern about her husband’s conditions and her lack of contact with him for the past several days. “Mr. Soltani himself told me when he called that his charges are ‘propagating against the regime,’ ‘establishing the Defenders of Human Rights [...]

Abdolfattah Soltani Arrested; Home and Offices Illegally Raided

On 10 September, Abdolfattah Soltani, human rights lawyer and a founding member of the Defenders of Human Rights Center was arrested. Soltani’s wife, Massoumeh Dehghan, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that security forces also illegally entered his offices, and confiscated several of his personal and family documents. “Four men went to [...]

Lacking Independence, Bar Association Remains Silent as Lawyers are Prosecuted

(24 August 2011) The Iranian Central Bar Association should come to the aid of embattled lawyers subjected to harassment, unfounded criminal charges or prison sentences for defending prisoners of conscience and advocating for human rights, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

The International Bar Association and United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers should also intervene to defend Iranian lawyers facing persecution, added the Campaign.

Five Lawyers Arrested, Only Three Identified

In recent days five lawyers have been arrested in Tehran. Only three of the arrested lawyers have been identified so far. Maryam Kian Ersi, Sara Sabbaghian, and Maryam Karbasi were arrested at Imam Khomeini International Airport upon their return from a trip to Turkey on Wednesday, 10 November.

Ebadi Calls on UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to Act

(31 October 2010) The Iranian Judiciary should end its systematic targeting of human rights defenders and lawyers who are being sentenced to lengthy prison terms solely for their human rights work and defending their clients, Shirin Ebadi said today in a joint statement with the Iranian League for Defense of Human Rights (LDDHI) and the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

On Saturday, 30 October, Branch 15 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court sentenced prominent lawyer Mohammad Seifzadeh to nine years in prison and a ten year ban from practicing law. Seifzadeh is charged with “acting against national security” by “establishing the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC).”

Veteran Political Prisoner Demands Trial of Supreme Leader

In a letter written from prison, political prisoner Heshmatollah Tabarzadi asked international courts to review his grievance against Iran’s Supreme Leader, Seyed Ali Khamenei. From Rajaee Shahr Prison, Tabarzadi called on Iranian lawyers, most of whom are currently in prison, free on bail, or have fled Iran, to make his suit against Iran’s Supreme Leader heard by international courts.