investigation stage, and also restricts lawyers who are able to access the case to a list of lawyers
nominated by the head of the judiciary. This article, in practice, has violated the principle of
access of the accused to his chosen lawyer, in all judicial stages. This effectively deprives many
civil society activists, including women activists, of access to a lawyer from the outset.
In addition, because most political and security cases, during the same period of detention and
interrogation, face violations of other rights, including freedom from torture, the disregard for the
right of access to a lawyer violates many other principles of a fair trial. It raises questions, such
as equality before the law, or the openness of the court, or the impartiality of the court.
Despite the existence of several means and mechanisms that accept complaints regarding the
violation of fair trial standards in Iran, such as the Judges disciplinary court, the Parliament’s
Article 90 Commission and, in general, any appeals courts and Supreme Court, there is no
evidence, with a few exceptions, to suggest that these complaints are properly analysed and
adjudicated by the competent authorities. There is a clear pattern of reports of Iran committing
numerous violations of the victim's rights under the fair trial standards.
There is a pattern of reported cases where prisoners remain incarcerated without proper access to
legal representation at all stages of their trial process5 and a number of judicial processes where
lawyers are denied timely access to their clients' legal files.6 In cases where legal representation
is granted, it is usually allowed only during official trial proceedings and denied during the
investigative phase of the process. This is a common trait of national security cases, where
Iranian intelligence agencies are heavily involved in the investigative phase and are a strong
influence on judges.7 In 2011, there was a report of at least 66 cases where prisoners did not have
access to lawyers. 8
Recommendation Status:
This recommendation has NOT been implemented
5
HRANA https://www.en-hrana.org/arash-sadegh-golrokh-iraeis-lawyers-access-cases
HRANA https://www.en-hrana.org/court-prevents-lawyer-accessing-files-five-sunni-prisoners
7
HRW https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/03/24/iran-detainees-denied-fair-legal-representation
8
HRANA https://www.en-hrana.org/test and https://www.en-hrana.org/political-prisoner-denied-access-to-an-attorney
6
2