Attorneys Targeted

As protesters continue to get arrested and executed at alarming rates, their defense attorneys are also getting swept up by security forces.

Since protests broke out in September, artists, journalists, street protesters and more have been arrested. Those who seek to defend them, often find themselves in cuffs too.

At least 44 defense lawyers have been arrested since September, according to the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), revealing yet another layer of brutality and suppression inflicted by the Islamic Republic.

Once protesters are arrested, they are offered a list of attorneys that have been state-approved. Many of them are aligned with security forces, which means the defendants are not receiving independent counsel.

There are public defenders who are not clearly aligned with security forces, but they often don’t have the resources or time to provide a robust defense.

Finally, there are independent attorneys who try to eke out a semblance of justice for their clients. These are the ones being arrested.

Most recently, two young men were hanged on Jan. 7 in a swift process that added up to two months total from start to finish. The father of one of these men said that not only was he not able to get in touch with his son’t attorney, he was not even provided an address.

“These men were not executed after a judicial process, they were lynched,” said Hadi Ghaemi, founder of CHRI.

Source: Center for Human Rights in Iran

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