Sixteen Lawyers Slammed with Bogus Charges in Iran for Criticizing Government

Lawyers Who Defended Woman Life Freedom Protesters Targeted for Prosecution

Notorious Prosecutor Involved in Death of Iranian-Canadian Journalist Zahra Kazemi Receives License to Practice Law

February 11, 2025 —Iran is intensifying its assault on independent lawyers, targeting dozens who have defended protesters and dissidents or have criticized government policies. The recent indictment of 16 lawyers in Mashhad on politically motivated charges demonstrates the Iranian authorities’ relentless efforts to silence legal defenders and obstruct accountability for human rights abuses, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said today.

“Iran’s judiciary operates in unison with the state’s security apparatus to crush independent lawyers, and with them, the defense of legal rights in Iran,” said Esfandiar Aban, senior researcher at CHRI. “These lawyers are the last remaining safeguards for huge numbers of unjustly detained individuals, and the authorities are determined to eliminate them,” Aban said.

On February 3, 2025, the prosecutor’s office in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city in Khorasan Razavi province, issued indictments against 16 lawyers on the charge of “propaganda against the state” following their online posts about legal and social issues. Initially, 18 lawyers were interrogated, with two issued restraining orders and 16 formally charged. This indictment, following a previous suspension of prosecution, underscores the authorities’ relentless efforts to stifle independent legal defense in Iran.

Additionally, on January 27, 2025, Yazd Legal News reported that 20 lawyers in Yazd province had been summoned by the Provincial Judiciary’s Central Prosecutor’s Office and the Judiciary’s Intelligence Protection Unit. 

The Iranian government has been increasingly targeting independent lawyers with vague political charges such as “propaganda against the state” and “publishing falsehoods.” Many have been disbarred, exiled to remote regions, or imprisoned—solely for defending victims of state violence and exposing judicial corruption. 

“The recent prosecution of 16 lawyers in Mashhad and targeting of 20 lawyers in Yazd is part of a systematic effort by the Islamic Republic to silence those who fight for fundamental rights, particularly those who defended protesters during the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising,” Aban said.  

CHRI calls on top UN officials and government leaders worldwide to:

• Forcefully condemn the Islamic Republic’s attacks on independent lawyers, both in public and in private communications directly with Iranian officials;
• Demand that Iran immediately frees all lawyers imprisoned for defending legal rights in Iran and drops charges against all lawyers prosecuted for defending basic rights;
• Demand that the Iranian authorities comply with its obligations under international law, including the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, which guarantee the work and independence of legal professionals without intimidation and harassment.

Lawyers Prosecuted For Social Media Posts Critical of Government

The charged lawyers in Mashad—Amirdokht Bahareh Bazrgar, Amin Shahla, Sajjad Javadi, Saeid Javadi, Sahar Dashti Daghiani, Mitra Izadifar, Jafar Sagharvanian, Rouhollah Hosseini, Enayatollah Karamati, Faezeh Seyydi, Vajiheh Qorshi Yazdi, Ali Asghar Dashti, Farzaneh Safari, Kazem Chazgi, Mohammad Reza Yazdani, Mehdi Mohammad-Hossienian, are facing continued and politically motivated prosecution despite a previous dismissal of their case. CHRI has learned that the primary basis for the charges was the lawyers’ online posts. 

For example, Mitra Izadifar’s social media posts highlighted social injustices in Iran, such as the lack of support for undocumented people in Iran’s impoverished Sistan and Baluchistan province. Similarly, Enayatollah Karamati used Instagram to critique corruption in the country and authoritarianism in its governance. These peaceful expressions of concern for human rights and legal integrity are now being used as grounds for prosecution.

Previously, the investigating judge at Branch 901 of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office in District 9 of Mashhad dismissed the case. However, the prosecutor objected. Consequently, Branch 5 of the Revolutionary Court in Mashhad intervened, overturning the judge’s initial decision and declaring the lawyers guilty. 

Three of the lawyers were previously prosecuted in the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Mashhad in 2022 on charges including “propaganda against the state,” but were pardoned in an amnesty.

Lawyer: “The Ministry of Intelligence already decided the lawyers are guilty.”

In an interview with CHRI, human rights lawyer Marzieh Mohebbi said that the case was manipulated from the start. Initially, the investigator in charge found no grounds for criminal prosecution, but the prosecutor overruled this decision. During the interrogations, the lawyers were not given a chance to defend themselves, and their social media posts were presented as proof of guilt. Mohebbi noted that the Ministry of Intelligence, the plaintiff in the case, had already determined their guilt without due process.

“Unfortunately the environment in the Bar Association in Khorasan Razavi province is very, very conservative. Its board of directors and chairman, in my opinion, are close to the government and do not meet the standards of the Bar Association. The chairman of the Khorasan Razavi Bar Association has not reacted at all to the case against these lawyers.

“Initially the investigator in the case did not want to bring criminal charges against these lawyers but the prosecutor objected. In such circumstances, when a dispute arises between the investigator and the prosecutor, the case is referred to Branch 5 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Mashhad to resolve the dispute. In this case, Branch 5 agreed that the lawyers should be charged.

“During the interrogation of the lawyers, the investigator did not even speak to them and just put a stack of papers in front of each of them that included a printout of all the lawyers’ online posts since the Jina (Woman, Life, Freedom) Movement. The content of many of the tweets and online stories is really not that radical but very ordinary. None of them can be considered legally actionable. When the lawyers wanted to defend themselves against the accusations, the investigator did not allow them to speak or explain anything and told them that the plaintiff in the case is the Ministry of Intelligence and there is no need to investigate when the Ministry has decided that the lawyers are guilty.

“It shows that this case is clearly a conspiracy against these lawyers who followed up on the cases brought against protesters during and after the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising. Three of the lawyers were also brought to court during the Jina Movement solely because of their online activities.”

Mohebbi added that since the Woman, Life, Freedom protests, the Revolutionary Courts in Khorasan Razavi province have systematically denied defendants the right to independent legal representation, instead appointing judiciary-approved lawyers under the guise of “security reasons.”

“Since the Woman, Life, Freedom protests, the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Khorasan Razavi province has not allowed the presence of chosen lawyers at any of the stages of the hearings for so-called security reasons, based on the Note to Article 48 of Iran’s Code of Criminal Procedure [which stipulates that defendants must choose lawyers from amongst a list of state-appointed lawyers in cases involving national security]. The Islamic Revolutionary Court in the province is heavily dominated by lawyers [who are approved by the judiciary].”

Mohebbi told CHRI that the immediate concern for these 16 lawyers is that the prosecutor’s office may request that the Bar Association suspend the lawyers’ law licenses, effectively ending their careers and depriving their clients of legal representation. Such a move would not only punish the lawyers but also further dismantle any remaining semblance of legal defense for those facing politically motivated prosecutions.

Lawyers Summoned While Notorious Human Rights Abuser Receives Law License

Meanwhile, on January 27, 2025, Yazd Legal News briefly reported that 20 attorneys in Yazd province had been summoned by the Provincial Judiciary’s Central Prosecutor’s Office and the Judiciary’s Intelligence Protection Unit. In most cases, the summonses resulted in warnings, but in a few instances, formal charges were filed against the lawyers.

Despite these summonses, the provincial Bar Association has remained silent. Yet it has moved forward with granting a law license to the notorious human rights abuser Saeed Mortazavi, a former judge and Tehran prosecutor. Mortazavi, who played a central role in the Kahrizak detention center killings and the death in custody of Iranian-Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi, is thus now becoming a licensed lawyer in the Islamic Republic.

The Iranian Supreme Court disbarred Saeed Mortazavi, also known as the “Butcher of the Press” for his role in repressing journalists and protesters, on November 14, 2014. However, in 2021, the Supreme Court acquitted him of murder for his key involvement in the deaths of the Kahrizak detainees.

His approval by the Yazd Bar Association has sparked outrage among activists and legal experts, who question how someone implicated in grave human rights abuses and crimes can now practice law. In response, a group of lawyers has launched a campaign demanding the revocation of Mortazavi’s license. Using the hashtag #ALawyerMustBeHonorable, the campaign has gathered over 11,600 signatures.

Mortazavi’s case is yet another example of the deep-seated impunity for egregious human rights crimes within Iran’s judicial system.

Journalist and cartoonist Nikahang Kowsar recently detailed his past interrogation by Mortazavi:

“Twenty-five years ago, Mortazavi interrogated me for three and a half hours, trying to extract statements he could use against me. When he failed, he resorted to threats and intimidation, ultimately saying he would send me to [Evin Prison’s] notorious security Ward 209.”

“After Woman, Life, Freedom, the government realized how crucial lawyers can be in advocating for detainees”

In an interview with CHRI, a source familiar with the summonses in Yazd emphasized that these actions are part of a broader state assault on lawyers across the country. 

“What makes these summonses different from previous instances is that the lawyers have been collectively summoned to the Judiciary’s Intelligence Protection Unit. If these cases were related to financial or other routine matters, there would be no reason to summon lawyers to this particular unit.

“These summonses are part of a broader crackdown on lawyers across the country, precisely at a time when the authorities fear the resurgence of public protests. Similar actions will soon take place in other cities across Iran. The reality is that after the Jina [Woman, Life, Freedom] uprising, the government realized how crucial lawyers can be—not only during protests but also in advocating for detainees and petitioners afterward. Many lawyers may not be allowed to directly represent protest-related cases, but their networks and the avenues they know for assisting citizens played a critical role during the 2022 protests.”

In the escalating crackdown on lawyers, Payam Derafshan, a prominent human rights attorney in Iran, recently revealed the extent of judicial and security forces’ collusion in an interview with CHRI. He described how the Islamic Republic’s security agencies are unlawfully given control over politically sensitive cases involving victims seeking justice for state abuses. Subsequently, the judiciary targets and prosecutes the lawyers who file these cases.

“The persecution of lawyers is an attack on justice itself. If those who defend fundamental rights are criminalized, then no citizen can be assured access to due process and a fair trial. The international community must not remain silent in the face of this assault on defenders of fundamental rights in Iran,” said Aban.