Together with 18 other organisations, members of the international legal community and 180 lawyers, we raise urgent concern about the rapidly shrinking space for legal defence in Iran in the aftermath of the recent uprising and subsequent crackdown, now compounded by the risks of armed conflict. Detainees are being blocked from securing independent legal representation, while lawyers who attempt to provide that representation face retaliation for doing their jobs. We call on the Iranian authorities to guarantee prompt, confidential access to counsel from the moment of arrest, end reprisals against the legal profession, and urgently implement Iran’s own wartime legal safeguards to protect the lives of prisoners.
Reports received from inside the country point to a dual and mutually reinforcing pattern: detainees, particularly those arrested in protest-related or security-labelled cases, are being denied independent legal representation, while proceedings in some branches are being accelerated sharply, with key procedural steps taken within days rather than months. This leaves detainees little real opportunity to consult counsel or prepare an effective defence.
Families describe recurring obstacles: uncertainty about where a relative is being held, long periods without phone contact, delays or refusals in granting access to a lawyer, pressure to abandon chosen counsel, and vague “national security” allegations used to justify secrecy. When access to counsel is withheld at the earliest stages of detention, the risk of coercion, forced confessions, and other due-process violations rises sharply. Denial of counsel is not a technical defect — it is a gateway to abuse.
We are further alarmed by reports that detainees in protest-related cases have been explicitly warned by judicial and security-linked officials that appointing a defence lawyer will result in “heavier sentences.” Such threats, whether direct or indirect, amount to an impermissible interference with the right to a defence and have led some families to forgo formally introducing a lawyer altogether, despite seeking legal advice.
At the same time, independent lawyers face summonses, interrogations, arrests, detention, and threats of further prosecution designed to deter them from assisting detainees and speaking publicly about unlawful practices. A legal profession operating under fear cannot serve as an independent check on the system.
We also note with concern the official promotion of “smart” or automated judicial guidance tools, presented as a substitute for lawyers for those who cannot afford counsel. Automated advice cannot provide independent defence, confidentiality, or protection against coercion, particularly in cases where liberty, bodily integrity, or life are at stake. Framing such tools as an alternative to counsel risks normalising the very deprivation of defence rights now being reported.
Prisoners at risk amid armed conflict
These practices are incompatible with Iran’s obligations under international human rights law, including fair-trial guarantees, the right to communicate with counsel, and the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.
In the context of escalating military tensions and reported airstrikes affecting urban areas, the situation of detainees in Iranian prisons — particularly political prisoners and prisoners of conscience — has become an urgent humanitarian concern. They remain entirely dependent on state authorities for their safety, and responsibility for safeguarding their lives rests unequivocally with the Iranian authorities and judiciary.
Notably, Resolution No. 211 of Iran’s own Supreme Judicial Council, adopted during the Iran–Iraq war, requires the judiciary to use available legal mechanisms — including conversion of detention orders, conditional release, acceptance of bail, and transfer to secure locations — to protect prisoners’ lives during wartime emergencies. In light of recent reports concerning conditions in Evin Prison and other facilities, the immediate implementation of these existing domestic protections is both legally required and morally imperative. Prisoners must not become casualties of circumstances they neither created nor can escape.
Lawyers arrested or detained
Based on information received, the following lawyers have been arrested or detained in recent months after indicating an intention to represent detainees or making public statements on due process. Restrictions on access to information mean additional cases may remain unreported:
- Shima Ghoosheh, member of Central Bar Association, arrested 17 January 2026, currently detained in Ward 209 of Evin Prison. Charges unknown.
- Mohammad-Hadi Ja’farpour, member of Fars Bar Association, arrested 18 January 2026, released on bail of roughly USD 31,833 on 3 February 2026. Charged with “assembly and collusion to commit a crime against national security,” “propaganda against the state,” and “dissemination of false information.”
- Enayatollah Karamati, member of the Judiciary’s Legal Advisors Centre, arrested 10 January 2026, currently detained in Vakil-Abad Prison, Mashhad. Charges unknown.
- Nazanin Baradaran, member of Fars Bar Association, arrested 16 January 2026. Charges, reasons, and place of detention unknown.
- Hossein Shokri, member of the Judiciary’s Legal Advisors Centre in Ilam Province, arrested 25 January 2026 and released on bail 31 January 2026.
- Mehdi Ansari, member of Fars Bar Association, arrested 28 January 2026 and released on bail 3 February 2026.
- Mehran Ansari, member of Fars Bar Association, arrested 28 January 2026. Status unknown.
- Ja’far Keshavarz, member of Fars Bar Association, arrested 28 January 2026. Status unknown.
- Ja’far Zarei, member of Fars Bar Association, arrested 28 January 2026, released on bail 4 February 2026.
- Zohreh Javani, member of Central Bar Association, arrested 31 January 2026. Status unknown.
- Sepideh Taheri, member of the Hormozgan Bar Association, summoned to the Shiraz Prosecutor’s Office and arrested there on 1 February 2026. Charged with “propaganda against the regime” and “spreading false information.”
- Teymour Salari, member of the Hormozgan Bar Association, arrested on a public street in Jiroft on 9 January 2026 by IRGC Intelligence officers. Charged with “forming groups against national security” and “propaganda against the regime.” Held roughly 24 hours at an IRGC Intelligence detention centre before transfer to Jiroft Prison, where he remains; bail offered by his representatives was denied. His case was later transferred to the provincial capital, but no further information on its progress has since been provided.
- Alireza Farzaneh Jajroomi, member of the Khuzestan Bar Association, arrested 9 January 2026 in Ahvaz. Charges, reasons, and place of detention unknown.
- Amir Bahadorifar, member of the Khorasan Bar Association, detained since 10 January 2026 in Mashhad. Charges, reasons, and place of detention unknown.
- Mohsen Darginezhad, member of the Khorasan Bar Association, detained since 10 January 2026 in Mashhad. Charges, reasons, and place of detention unknown.
- Dariush Ganjeh-Pour Qashqaei, trainee lawyer and member of the Fars Bar Association, arrested in Shiraz. Date and charges not yet known.
- Hamid Noroozi, member of Fars Bar Association, arrested 14 February 2026 in front of his home, released on bail (roughly USD 30,669) on 24 February 2026. Charged with “assembly and collusion to commit a crime against national security.”
- Hadi Sharifzadeh, member of Central Bar Association, arrested at his home in Shiraz on 16 February 2026 and taken to an unknown location; released on bail on 19 February 2026. Reason for arrest and charges unknown.
- Fatemeh Rouhandeh, a lawyer in Kerman, arrested 23 February 2026 after appearing at the provincial Cyber Police office following prior summonses, and transferred to the Kerman Narcotics Detention Centre despite charges unrelated to drug offences. Charged with “propaganda against the regime” and “encouraging people to riot,” reportedly linked to her social media activity. She had previously represented detainees from the 2022 protests.
We are gravely concerned about the fate of Masoud Shirmardi Shahghasemi, a lawyer and member of the Central Bar Association, arrested on 9 January 2026 in Tehran and transferred to Evin Prison. He has been denied access to legal counsel and, according to reports, severely beaten and tortured, without access to medical treatment, placing his physical health at serious risk. No information is available on the charges or reason for his arrest.
These arrests, heavy bail conditions, and transfers to detention facilities unrelated to the underlying charges form part of a broader, long-standing pattern of state policies narrowing lawyers’ independence and access to counsel in politically sensitive cases. This pattern predates the current uprising and has, in some cases, had lethal consequences, as illustrated by the death of lawyer Khosrow Alikordi on 4 December 2025, under circumstances that prompted international calls for scrutiny.
We call on the Iranian authorities to:
- Guarantee access to counsel from the moment of arrest for all persons detained in connection with the protests, ensuring that access remains effective at every stage of detention, investigation, and trial.
- Respect the right to freely choose one’s lawyer and ensure prompt, confidential communication with counsel without obstruction, including during interrogation.
- End reprisals against lawyers, including harassment, intimidation, summonses, prosecutions, and arrests linked to the lawful exercise of professional duties.
- Release all lawyers detained solely for performing legitimate professional functions, and ensure their safety, including protection from torture or ill-treatment and access to medical care.
- Remove structural restrictions that undermine the independence of the legal profession and bring laws and practice into line with international fair-trial standards.
- Urgently implement existing legal safeguards applicable during wartime and emergency conditions — including conversion of detention orders, conditional or temporary release, and transfer of prisoners to secure locations — to protect prisoners’ lives.
We further call for prompt, impartial investigations into allegations of torture or ill-treatment, and for accountability where violations have occurred.
We also urge the United Nations, including the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, to continue documenting and following up on cases of lawyers who are detained, prosecuted, or otherwise targeted.
We stand with lawyers in Iran who continue, at significant personal risk, to defend fundamental rights and the integrity of the justice system in the face of repression.
Signatories
- The Centre for Supporters of Human Rights (CSHR)
- International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
- International Observatory of Lawyers at Risk (OIAD)
- Alliance for Lawyers at Risk
- The Common Good Foundation, Inc
- Federation of European Bar Associations (FBE)
- International Association of People’s Lawyers Monitoring Committee on Attacks on Lawyers
- Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L)
- Asociación Profesional de la Abogacía Saharaui en España (APRASE)
- Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada
- Consiglio Dell’Ordine Degli Avvocati di Torino
- Consiglio Dell’Ordine Degli Avvocati di Padova
- Jurists’ Council for a Democratic Iran
- Ordre des avocats de Genève (Geneva Bar Association)
- Deutscher Anwaltverein (DAV) – German Bar Association
- Milan Bar Association
- Comitato Pari Opportunità dell’Ordine degli Avvocati di Milano
- Consiglio Dell’Ordine Degli Avvocati di Patti
- Ordine degli Avvocati di Brescia
Read the full version of the statement here.
