Lawyers for Lawyers has received reports that four lawyers have been arrested in Iran on 14 August 2021. The lawyers were preparing to file a lawsuit against state officials for their gross mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, but were arrested by judicial agents and pressured to drop the lawsuit before they could file it.
The Center for Human Rights in Iran reports that on 14 August 2021 the lawyers Arash Keykhosravi, Mostafa Nili, Leila Heydari and Mohammed Reza Faghihi were arrested alongside two civil rights activists in Tehran. Leila Heydari was released the following day, but the other lawyers remain in custody. During their arrest, also several personal belongings, including phones, were confiscated without a warrant. No official charges have yet been made public against the arrested lawyers.
The lawyers and activists were collectively preparing to sue the Iranian authorities, following widespread criticism in Iran of the government’s handling of the pandemic. According to the Center for Human Righst in Iran, the arrests fit in a wider trend of Iran’s attempt to attack peaceful dissent, which has intensified since President Raisi and Judiciay Chief Mohseni Ejei came into power last June.
Lawyers for Lawyers will continue to monitor the situation of lawyers Arash Keykhosravi, Mostafa Nili, Leila Heydari and Mohammed Reza Faghihi closely.
