93 Lawyers Call for Release of Several Prisoners in Letter to Raisi

Dozens of bar association lawyers have called on Iran’s judiciary chief to release a number of their colleagues and several other civil and political activists who have been imprisoned for criticizing the government.

93 bar association lawyers have called on Ibrahim Raisi, the head of Iran’s judiciary, to release a number of prisoners who are serving time for “criticism of rulers” in a letter addressed to him.

In this letter, which has been signed by figures such as Saleh Nikbakht, Abdolfattah Soltani, Saeed Dehqan, and Farida Gheyrat, the detention of these individuals is described as “unjust,” and the signatories are calling for immediate action and follow-up for their release.

In the letter, which was published on the Ensaf News website, references are made to the names of prisoners including Giti Pourfazel, Nasrin Sotoudeh, Mohammad Najafi, Amirsalar Davoudi, Mohammad Nourizad, Esmail Abdi, Farhad Meysami, and Keyvan Samimi.

Further in the letter, Raisi is asked to take action under “any legal provision he deems appropriate” for “the release of individuals who had concerns for the public good and have been subject to criminal prosecution.”

Prominent human rights figures and organizations around the world have repeatedly protested the imprisonment of lawyers and political and civil activists in Iran and called for their release.

In late Farvardin, the European Bar Council sent a letter to Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president, calling for the release of imprisoned lawyers.

Before that, Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed concern about the situation of human rights activists and imprisoned lawyers in Iran and called for their swift release given the spread of coronavirus in prisons.

Source: DW