Court Rejects Release of Qassem Shele Saadi and Arash Keykhosravi, Attorneys at Law

The appeal filed by Qassem Shele Saadi and Arash Keykhosravi, two attorneys who were detained on August 18 in front of Parliament, was rejected by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, and their detention order was upheld.

Mohammad Hossein Aghassi, the defense attorney for Qassem Shele Saadi, stated that the interrogator who issued the temporary detention order is awaiting the final report from the Ministry of Intelligence as the case officer and will make a decision based on that report.

These individuals have been charged with assembly and conspiracy against national security.

Previously, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch issued statements condemning the treatment of lawyers active in human rights matters and called for their release.

Nasrin Sotoudeh and her husband Reza Khandan are also being held in temporary detention at Evin Prison for the same reason.

Qassem Shele Saadi and Arash Keykhosravi were arrested on the morning of Saturday, August 18, at Baharestan Square in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly. Mr. Shele Saadi had stated that he was staging a sit-in in protest of judicial review, following the example of Mohammad Mossadegh.

The two were transferred to Evin Prison on the same day following their arrest and were transferred to Tehran’s central prison on Sunday after charges were read to them at Branch 5 of the Evin Prosecutor’s Office.

In a video released on Twitter on Tuesday, August 30, Mr. Shele Saadi and Arash Keykhosravi were seen wearing prison uniforms and handcuffs being transferred to the Evin Prosecutor’s Office. This is despite the fact that according to Iran’s political crime law, defendants charged with political crimes are exempted from wearing prison uniforms and should be kept separately from common criminals.

Mohammad Hossein Aghassi, Qassem Shele Saadi’s attorney, wrote on Twitter that a temporary detention order was issued against his client for the charges of assembly and conspiracy with the intent to commit a crime against national security.

The attorney defending Mr. Shele Saadi emphasized that he does not consider these charges consistent with his client’s actions and the legal definition of this offense, and will appeal the detention order within the legal timeframe.

Source: Voice of America