Lawyers filing complaint against Khamenei on Coronavirus catastrophe in Iran got arrested and are still under detention after two days.
The human rights center “No to Prison, No to Execution” reported on August 16, 2021, that on Saturday, August 14, seven lawyers of the Association in Support of Civil Rights in Tehran were detained. According to the letter of the human rights commission members of The Capital’s Lawyers Club, the detained lawyers “intended to file a complaint against the government’s delinquency in managing and containing the coronavirus epidemic.”
The detained lawyers are: Arash KaiKhosravi, Mostafa Nili, Mehdi Mahmoodian, Mohammadreza Faqihi, Mohammad-Hadi Erfanian-Kaseb, Ms. Maryam Fara-Afraaz and Ms. Laila Heidari.
Laila Haidari and Mohammad-Hadi Erfanian-Kaseb were released after a few hours but the other five are still under detention.
Lawyer and human rights activist, Mohammad Hosseinn Aqasi explained: “these lawyers, also civil activists, wanted to file a complaint against Khamenei in regard with the mismanagement of the coronavirus crisis, at the court allocated for the government’s employees.”
Mohammad-Hadi Erfanian-Kaseb told the human rights center of “No to Prison- No to Execution”: “Unfortunately we have no information of their whereabouts. Mr. Nili and Ms. Fara-Afraaz have recently contracted the coronavirus. We are worried about our friends, specially these two.”
It is said, during a session at the office of Association in Support of the Civil Rights, all of a sudden, 15 agents and two interrogators have entered the office and arrested these lawyers. Some of their personal belongings such as their cell phones have been confiscated by the agents.
Following the arrests, the lawyer members of human rights commission of The Capital’s Lawyers Club called for their immediate release and prosecution of the perpetrators in a statement. The statement reads in part: “A group of our colleagues, lawyers who under article 34 of the constitution intended to file a complaint in regard with the government’s delinquencies in managing and containing the coronavirus epidemic were detained by some judiciary agents and bailiffs without committing any crime. The perpetrators also threatened these lawyers to withdraw their complaint.”
The statement also adds: “This act is an obvious and clear act of arbitrary arrests and prevention of the right to complain under the article nine of the constitution and is liable to article 570 of the Islamic Penal Laws and is prosecutable.” The human rights center “No to Prison, No to Execution” calls for the immediate release of all the lawyers and condemns this illegal act which is in contradiction with even the constitution of this regime. While the coronavirus tsunami is sweeping the country full power and claims its victims, the arrest of the lawyers who are seeking people’s rights is an act above the law and must be internationally condemned.
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