Ebadi: “The Murders on 14 February Were Carried Out by Government Forces”

In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and head of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, Shirin Ebadi, criticized the Iranian government’s refusal to issue permits for peaceful demonstrations and said that authorities from Iran’s Interior Ministry follow double standards. “If the Interior Ministry claims that all assemblies and demonstrations require a permit from the Ministry, then how is it that it is not considered illegal when groups gather in front of Karroubi’s home on many nights, to the point where their neighbors file complaints about the actions [of the demonstrators] which keep them from resting, but when students want to demonstrate, it is considered illegal?” Ebadi said.

UN human rights chief concerned by Iranian crackdown on human rights defenders

GENEVA – The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Tuesday expressed renewed concern for the fate of human rights defenders in Iran, particularly Ms. Nasrin Sotoudeh who was on hunger strike for several weeks in Tehran’s Evin Prison.

“As we approach international Human Rights Day* on 10 December, the world will be focusing on situations where human rights activists are not free to organize or speak out,” the High Commissioner said. “I am very concerned that Nasrin Sotoudeh’s case is part of a much broader crackdown, and that the situation of human rights defenders in Iran is growing more and more difficult,” she added.

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.

“The Bloggers Must Be Acquitted and Judges Be Put on Trial”

Mohammad Seifzadeh, lawyer in the “Bloggers Case,” spoke with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran saying despite a ruling being issued in the case, officials have not served him with the decision. Six years have passed since 21 journalists and technical staff of several websites were arrested. So far, the court has changed the presiding judge twice, just as acquittals seemed likely. There have been calls for former Tehran Prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi, who was responsible for the court file, to be held accountable for his illegal actions in arresting the bloggers. This year, Mortazavi was suspended for his role in the transfer of some prisoners to Kahrizak detention center, where at least four died from severe torture. After several years, four of the accused bloggers have been sentenced to prison terms by lower courts.

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).”

Prominent American Civil Rights Lawyer Calls for Release of Imprisoned Iranian Lawyers

A prominent civil rights lawyer in the United States has written a letter addressing human rights abuses carried out by the government against attorneys in Iran dedicated to upholding human rights. The letter, written by Michael H. Sussman, comes at a time when prominent human rights lawyers, including Nasrin Sotoudeh who has been imprisoned since 4 September and is reportedly on hunger strike, are being detained wantonly by authorities. Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi and prominent international organizations have called for the of release Sotoudeh citing the deeply flawed judicial system in Iran that targets its own lawyers.

Seifzadeh in Court: ‘My Charge Was Establishing the Defenders of Human Rights Center’

On 9 October 2010, Mohammad Seifzadeh, a lawyer and one of the founders of the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC), was tried at Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court on the charge of founding the organization. In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Seifzadeh referred to the proceedings as “illegal,” and called the unrelated questioning an “inquisition.” He also complained about lack of a jury panel at his trial and that his case was originally prepared by two judges who have since been suspended from service, Saeed Mortazavi and Haddad, and the fact that the court’s proceedings under these circumstances were entirely illegal.

Former President’s Travel Ban Part of Systematic Effort to Contain Criticism

(15 April 2010) The Iranian government’s refusal to allow former president Mohammad Khatami to attend a conference in Hiroshima, Japan, is a violation of his freedom of movement and part of a broad but futile effort to contain critical voices and prevent them from having contact with the international community, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

“Numerous human rights defenders, women’s rights activists, and others with independent views have had their passports confiscated, in effect making them prisoners in their own country,” said Hadi Ghaemi, spokesperson for the Campaign.

Threats Against Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi Must Be Condemned

(25 June 2009) Official Iranian news agencies have published a letter claiming to be from lawyers, university professors, and families of veterans and martyrs, which requests the Justice minister, Gholam-Hussein Elham, to prosecute Iranian Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi for allegedly violating Islamic and constitutional law through her human rights advocacy, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported today. Elham is also the spokesman for Ahmadinejad’s government.

The letter, published by Fars News, an outlet close to the Revolutionary Guards, claims that Ms. Ebadi’s advocacy with international authorities in the wake of massive police brutality against peaceful demonstrators violates her obligations as a lawyer.

Human Rights Defenders Prevented from Leaving Iran; Women’s Rights Advocates Arrested

(11 May 2009) The Iranian government is continuing to expand its repression of women’s rights activists ahead of the 12 June presidential elections, with a new wave of travel bans, detentions, and summons, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

The Campaign reported that Narges Mohammadi of the banned Iranian human rights group Defenders Human Rights Center, and Soraya Aziz Panah of the Center to Clean Mine Fields, were prevented from leaving Tehran on 7 May 2009.