Human Rights Defenders Monitoring Program: The arrest of Payam Derfashan is an enforced disappearance

The Human Rights Defenders Monitoring Program expressed concern in a statement about the “enforced disappearance” of Payam Darfashan and “the continued judicial harassment of him and Farrokh Forouzan Kermani,” writing: “This harassment is a punishment for their legitimate human rights activities.”

In a statement issued on June 16, the Human Rights Defenders Monitoring Program expressed deep concern over the “enforced disappearance” of human rights lawyer Payam Darfashan and called on Iranian authorities to “immediately provide information about his status, the reason for his arrest, and the charges against him.”

The Human Rights Defenders Protection Monitoring Program writes in this statement that it has learned through the Human Rights Defense Society in Iran about the enforced disappearance of human rights lawyer Payam Darfashan and the continued judicial harassment of him and another human rights lawyer, Farrokh Forouzan Kermani.

Based on this information, Payam Darfashan was arrested by unknown individuals in his office in Tehran on June 9. According to Saeed Dehghan, a lawyer who is following Payam Darfashan's case, there is no information yet about the place of arrest, the reason for his arrest, or the charges against him.

Saeed Dehghan, Payam Derfashan's lawyer, told ILNA news agency on June 10, one day after Derfashan's arrest, that a new case has been opened against him, but no details have been provided to us yet regarding the reason for his arrest. According to ILNA, citing Dehghan, the case is being processed at Branch 2 of the Evin Security Court.

Payam Darfashan's defense lawyer also said in this interview: "Since my client's previous sentence is suspended and the suspension is final, his arrest has no connection to the previous sentence. We are still waiting for them to provide us with the details of the reason for the arrest."

The monitoring program expresses “grave concern” about the “enforced disappearance” of Darfashan and “the continued judicial harassment against him and Farrokh Forouzan Kermani,” writing: “This harassment appears to be intended to punish their legitimate human rights activities.”

The program calls for “immediate and unconditional information about the status and location of Payam Darfashan’s detention” and calls on the “authorities” of the Islamic Republic to “end any harassing measures, including at the judicial level, against him and Mr. Farrokh Forouzan Kermani, as well as all human rights defenders in Iran.”

Payam Darfashan and Farrokh Forouzan Kermani were found guilty in February 2019 by the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Karaj on charges of "insulting the position of the Leader" and sentenced to two years in prison and a two-year ban from practicing law.