A prominent Iranian human rights lawyer was arrested today in Teheran.The ISNA news agency reports that Abdol-Fattah Soltani was arrested by agents of the judiciary at Iran's Lawyers' Center in Teheran. The charges against Soltani are not clear. In an interview with RFE/RL's Radio Farda ealier today, Soltani called for the attention of the international community to his plight.
Soltani represents jailed dissident journalist Akbar Ganji, who is reportedly near death after 50 days on a hunger strike. He also represents the family of an Iranian-Canadian photographer who died in custody in 2003 from a cerebral haemorrhage after being arrested for photographing a rally in Tehran.
In his interview with RFE/RL's Radio Farda he said On Wednesday, judiciary officials with an arrest warrant searched his home and seized personal effects and a computer.
Soltani said he has begun a sit-in in a Tehran legal building to protest what he called a bid to intimidate him and other lawyers who defend political cases. He added:
"We call for the attention of bar associations, law societies, legal practioners and the International Bar Association, and all intellectuals and defenders of freedom in the world [to the fact that] it is possible that today or tomorrow [security officials] will come and put me in jail and, obviously, under horrific torture... And this is a project designed by [Tehran Attorney General] Saiid Mortazari in order to cover up his arbitrary and illegal activities."
Soltani also represents the family of an Iranian-Canadian photographer who died in custody in 2003 from a cerebral haemorrhage after being arrested for photographing a rally in Tehran. In addition, Soltani is a colleague of 2003 Nobel peace prize winner
Shirin Ebadi, who, today, criticised the moves against him.
jg
انتخاب سردبیر
پرخوانندهترینها
۱
