investigations”. Article 48 of the CCP permits the accused to “demand the presence of a lawyer
from the start of detention,”1920 but specifies in a note21 that individuals facing charges for certain
offences, including those relating to national security, must select their legal counsel from among
a list of lawyers approved by the Head of the Judiciary.22 In 2018, the Judiciary published the list
of approved lawyers, with only 20 for the whole city of Tehran. In addition to the limited number
of approved lawyers, the independence and neutrality of those appearing on the Judiciary’s list
are not guaranteed and have been questioned.23 As a consequence, the right to legal assistance of
one’s choosing for individuals accused of national security related crimes is particularly limited.
In May 2019, the Iranian legal and judicial parliamentary commission proposed an amendment
to Article 48 of the Code of Criminal Procedure which would allow the prosecution to delay
access to a lawyer for 20 days, with a possibility of extension to the whole duration of
investigation, in cases related to national security, terrorism or financial corruption.24 25 Such an
amendment would further restrict access to legal counsel, notably for people accused of national
security related crimes.
Iranian authorities frequently resort to the aforementioned legal provisions to intimidate, arrest
and prosecute individuals, disproportionately minorities2627, who peacefully exercise their rights
to freedom of expression, association and assembly, including journalists, media workers, trade
19
The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran < http://www.iranchamber.com/government/laws/constitution_ch03.php >
The Code of Criminal Procedure of the Islamic Republic of Iran (2015) as referenced in the joint submission to the Human
Rights Committee from the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, Impact Iran, Human
Rights Activists in Iran, 2020,
<https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CCPR_ICS_IRN_42313_E.pdf >
21
The Code of Criminal Procedure of the Islamic Republic of Iran (2015) as referenced in the joint submission to the Human
Rights Committee from the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, Impact Iran, Human
Rights Activists in Iran, 2020,
<https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CCPR_ICS_IRN_42313_E.pdf >
22
The former CCP had conditioned the presence of a lawyer at the investigative stage on the permission of the judge in cases
with a “confidential” aspect, cases where the presence of a party other than defendant would “corrupt” proceedings as determined
by the judge, and in national security cases; See the March 17, 2017 report of the UN Special Rapporteur, Asma Jahangir, on fair
trial in Iran (https://undocs.org/en/A/HRC/34/65)
23
“Iranian Lawyers Criticize Proposal to Deprive Defendants of Right to Choose Counsel,” Human Rights Activists in Iran, June
6, 2018 :<https://www.iranrights.org/library/document/3443>
24
Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, <https://www.iranrights.org/newsletter/issue/99 >
25
See these reports: <www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde13/0379/2019/en/> ;
<https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/05/iran-proposed-law-restricting-access-to-lawyer-would-be-crushing-blow-forjustice/ >
26
See more: Association for the human rights of the Azerbaijani people in Iran, http://www.ahraz.org/association-for-the-humanrights-of-the-azerbaijani-people-in-iran-ahrazs-repot-regarding-the-current-situation-of-the-azerbaijani-arrestees-that-arearrested-during-the-recent-protests-nove/
27
See more: Kurdistan Human Rights Geneva, https://kmmk-ge.org/sd/annual-report-2020/
20
3