Islamic Republic of Iran, notably on security of defamation charges.9 10 11 12 13 14 For example,
Amir Salar Davoudi, lawyer and civil rights activist, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on
charges, including “propaganda against the state” “espionage” and disrupting “national security”,
for performing his peaceful work and exercising his right to freedom of expression.15 16
Despite the existence of several mechanisms that ostensibly accept complaints regarding
violations of citizens' rights, such as the Article 90 Commission of the parliament (established
based on Article 90 of the Constitution, offering a mechanism to citizens to file complaint
against any of the three branches of power) and the Oversight Bodies for the exercise of
Citizenship Rights in the country's provincial courts, there is no evidence to suggest that
complaints to these bodies are independently reviewed and investigated.17
In its General Comment 32 of Article 14, the Human Rights Committee explicitly stipulates that
lawyers “should be able to advise and to represent persons charged with a criminal offence in
accordance with generally recognized professional ethics without restrictions, influence, pressure
or undue interference from any quarter.”18 Additionally, the UN Basic Principles on the Role of
Lawyers provide that “lawyers shall enjoy civil and penal immunity for relevant statements made
in good faith in written or oral pleadings or in their professional appearances before a court,
tribunal or other legal or administrative authority.”19 Despite these international standards,
immunity of counsel in pleading cases has not been reaffirmed, and has been actively
undermined, under Iranian legislation. Further, the mere existence of the Bar Association and
with it the -already limited-20 independence of lawyers is currently under threat.21
The Islamic Republic of Iran has not prevented the intimidation of lawyers, including threats of
detention and prosecution for discharging their ethical and professional responsibilities,
9
OHCHR News, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24333&LangID=E
Center for Human Rights in Iran, https://iranhumanrights.org/2020/06/list-of-attorneys-imprisoned-in-iran-for-defendinghuman-rights/
11
Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/12/13/iran-escalating-crackdown-lawyers
12
See more: Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, https://www.iranrights.org/newsletter/issue/97
13
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, May 2015,
https://undocs.org/A/HRC/28/70
14
See a number of reports published by HRANA: <https://www.en-hrana.org/annual-report-of-prosecuted-lawyers-in-iran>;
<https://www.en-hrana.org/iranian-authorities-detain-lawyers-and-civil-rights-activists>
15
United For Iran, https://ipa.united4iran.org/en/prisoner/4721/
16
https://www.en-hrana.org/annual-report-of-prosecuted-lawyers-in-iran
17
Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee, Abdorrahman Center, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC),
Impact Iran and Human Rights Activists in Iran, 2020,
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=INT%2fCCPR%2fICS%2fIRN%2f42313
&Lang=en
18
https://www.refworld.org/docid/478b2b2f2.html
19
Principle 20 of the Basic Principles https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/roleoflawyers.aspx
20
See more: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, May 2015,
https://undocs.org/A/HRC/28/70
21
Radio Farda, https://en.radiofarda.com/a/more-than-12-000-lawyers-in-iran-reject-move-to-dismantle-barassociation/30590110.html
10
2