Two Lawyers Sentenced to Prison by Alborz Court of Appeals; ‘Sword of Damocles’ Hanging Over Lawyers
Payam Darfshan and Farrokh Forouzan, lawyers based in Tehran, have been sentenced to a total of two years in prison by the Alborz Province Court of Appeals.
These two lawyers were previously sentenced to a total of four years in prison by the lower court, a sentence that was reduced to two years by the Alborz Province Court of Appeals.
Mohammad Moghimi, a senior lawyer, announced on Tuesday, June 6, by posting an image of the court ruling on his Telegram channel that in the case of lawyers Payam Darfshan and Farrokh Forouzan, a sentence of two years imprisonment and two years disbarment issued by the lower court for each of these two lawyers on charges of “insulting the leadership” was reduced to one year imprisonment by Branch 6 of the Alborz Province Court of Appeals, presided over by Justice Rahman Shabani and Rasool Karampour, with the supplementary penalty of two years disbarment confirmed as is.
It should be noted that according to the aforementioned ruling, the sentence has been suspended for two years and will be enforced if the crime is repeated.
Saeid Dehghan, a lawyer who posted news of Payam Darfshan’s conviction in the lower court on Twitter on Saturday, April 9, also announced on Monday, May 27, by posting news of the appeals court ruling that “this means our objection was valid, but the Sword of Damocles was also necessary! That is, people’s privacy is respected, but violating it is also necessary!”
According to available information, Payam Darfshan and Farrokh Forouzan were arrested on September 30, 2018, by Ministry of Intelligence agents in front of the house of Keikhosravi, a lawyer who was detained at that time, when they intended to visit his family, and were later released after posting bail.
The Islamic Republic authorities have repeatedly detained or imprisoned several lawyers over the years. Soheila Hejab, a lawyer and civil activist who was previously sentenced to 18 years in prison by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, was arrested on Saturday, May 24, immediately upon leaving the Tehran Court of Appeals after her 18-year sentence was upheld, and was transferred to Qarchak Prison in Varamin.
