Continued Pressure on Independent Lawyers in Iran; Islamic Republic Establishes New ‘Lawyer Oversight’ Institution
In continuation of pressures on independent lawyers in Iran, informal reports indicate that the Islamic Republic’s judiciary has launched an institution titled the “General Administration for Lawyer Oversight” by issuing a circular to monitor lawyers’ conduct.
Based on a circular distributed on social media by some lawyers, the Legal Deputy of the Judiciary has sent a circular to Iran’s courts, according to which oversight will be conducted regarding matters such as “adherence to Islamic principles, hijab, commitment to Wilayat al-Faqih and the Islamic Republic system, and observance of hijab… in courtroom environments and cyberspace.”
The issuance of this circular has faced protests from many independent lawyers on social media. One of these lawyers, referring to the pressures “under which” they conduct their legal practice on his Twitter page, believes that the issuance of this circular is not merely a professional matter but “a vital issue for everyone.”
Another lawyer, in a tweet addressed to civil and political activists, wrote that independent lawyers have “stood by you” for years and “despite the professional and occupational costs that defending political and human rights cases has entailed for them, they have defended you solely out of belief in fundamental principles of human rights, including the right to defense and fair trial.”
Islamist Republic authorities have repeatedly detained or imprisoned some court lawyers over the past years. Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer and civil activist whose case was previously sentenced to 18 years imprisonment by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, was arrested on Saturday, the 3rd of Khordad after appealing to Tehran’s Court of Appeals and having her 18-year sentence confirmed, and was transferred to Qarchak Prison in Varamin by the Tharallah Revolutionary Guard Corps of Tehran.
Also, Payam Derafshan and Farrokh Forouzan, court lawyers, were sentenced in the Court of Appeals of Alborz Province this past Khordad to a combined two years imprisonment.
International bodies, including Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders, state that the Islamic Republic of Iran violates freedom of expression and restricts media.
The United States has also repeatedly condemned in various instances the violent conduct and widespread suppression of protesters and civil activists, as well as the repeated and continuous violations of the rights of Iranian citizens, including freedom of expression and civil liberties, by the regime governing that country.
Source: Voice of America
