Abdolfatah Soltani
Iran Human rights lawyer arrested and convicted because of forming the Defenders of Human Rights Centre (DHRC) and taking on politically sensitive cases
Abdolfattah Soltani works in Teheran, where he acted on behalf of journalist Akbar Ganji (Ganji exposed the involvement of government officials in the murders of intellectuals and journalists, and was arrested on charges of endangerment of national security) and the family of the Iranian-Canadian photographer Zahra Kazemi, who was tortured and murdered in prison in 2003.
Soltani was arrested in July 2005, a week after saying at a hearing in the Kazemi case that Kazemi had been in the custody of state police when she was murdered, reproaching the authorities and claiming that they were protecting the people responsible. Shirin Ebadi, with whom Soltani worked on the case, was openly threatened that same week by the judicial authorities. On 6 March 2006 Soltani was released on bail.
On 16 July 2006 Soltani was sentenced to prison for five years. Soltani had disclosed secret information from clients he represented in charges of espionage in Iran’s nuclear programme. Neither Soltani nor his lawyers were allowed to attend the hearing. Soltani was subsequently disbarred.
On 28 May 2007 Soltani was acquitted of all charges on appeal. Since then, he has been hindered in other ways. His passport has repeatedly been confiscated by the government. In 2009, this made it impossible for him to travel to Germany to receive the Nuremberg International Human Rights Award.
Following the protests against the victory of Ahmadinejad at the elections of 12 June 2009, Soltani was abducted and taken to an unknown location on 16 June 2009. On 7 April it turned out that he was being held in the notorious Evan prison. The charge concerned the founding of the DHRC in 2002, which was dissolved by the Iranian government in 2006. Soltani was released on bail at the end of August 2009.
On 4 march 2012 the Islamic Revolution Court has condemned Soltani to 13 years in prison. He was convicted on charges of “propaganda against the system”, “participation in founding the Human Rights Defenders Centre”, assembly and collusion against national security” as well as “earning illegitimate assets” through receiving the Nuremberg City’s Human Rights prize in 2009.
Latest news
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Iran Abdolfattah Soltani awarded with IBA Human Rights Award
05 Oct 12 On the annual conference of the International Bar Association (IBA), the IBA Human Rights Award 2012 was awarded to Abdolfattah Soltani. Soltani is the co-founder of the Defender of Human Rights Centre(DHRC) and acted on behalf of, among others, journalist Akbar Ganji (Ganji exposed the involvement of government officials in the murders of intellectuals and ...
Iran Passport Abdolfatah Soltani confiscated
12 Oct 09 On 2 October 2009, the Iranian authorities confiscated Abdolfatah Soltani’s passport. At that moment Soltani was about to travel to Germany in order to receive the Nuremberg International Human Rights Award. He was also summoned at the Secretariat of the Iranian President. The incident is a new example of a lengthy series of intimidations against ...
Iran Abdolfattah Soltani wederom gevangengenomen en vermist
10 Jul 09 Sorry, this entry is not available in English.
News Iran
L4L Magamed Abubakarov to receive Lawyers for Lawyers Award
26 Apr 13 Magamed Abubakarov, a Russian human rights lawyer specialized in terrorist cases in the North-Caucasus, will receive the Lawyers for Lawyers Award 2013. Magamed Abubakarov will accept the award on 31 May at the end of a seminar called ‘Lawyers controlled, independence at stake?’, which will be held at the offices of NautaDutilh (WTC) in Amsterdam. ...
Iran Lawyers call upon authorities to revoke controversial bill
04 Mar 13 Thirty five lawyers sent an open letter to the Iranian authorities on 25 February 2013, urging them to stop infringements on the independence of the legal profession. In the letter, the lawyers asked in particular for the revocation of a proposed bill which is supposed to reform the supervision on the legal profession. One of ...
Iran Nasrin Sotoudeh ends hunger strike
07 Dec 12 L4L is pleased to announce that we have learned from sources that jailed Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has halted her hunger strike on 4 December 2012. She decided to end the hunger strike that lasted for 49 days after the Iranian judiciary agreed to drop a travel ban against her daughter and her ...
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26 Nov 12 On Monday 26 November, a group of lawyers on the initiative of Lawyers for Lawyers offered a petition to the Iranian Embassy in The Hague, the Netherlands, in order to draw attention to the deteriorating health situation of Nasrin Sotoudeh, who has been on hunger strike since 17 October. Unfortunately the lawyers were not received at the embassy, upon which ...
Iran Fourth week of hunger strike of Nasrin Sotoudeh
14 Nov 12 On 17 October 2012, Iranian human rights defender and lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh began a hunger strike to protest against the harassment by judicial authorities towards her family. Recently, Sotoudeh’s 12-year-old daughter was summoned by authorities and informed that she was banned from traveling outside the country. Furthermore, visits to Sotoudeh by her mother and brother have ...
Iran Nasrin Sotoudeh awarded Sakhorov price
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