28/11/19

CCBE Human Rights Award 2019

The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) grants its 2019 Human Rights Award to four Iranian lawyers currently in prison: Nasrin Sotoudeh, Abdolfattah Soltani, Mohammad Najafi and Amir Salar Davoudi.

Nasrin Sotoudeh: 38 years in prison and 148 lashes
Nasrin Sotoudeh is an eminent Iranian lawyer, who has dedicated her career to defending women and children who are victims of domestic violence, but also to defending several Iranian activists and journalists. She has also defended young people sentenced to death for committing acts while they were minors, women who had been victims of acid attacks, as well as religious minorities. Since 2016, she has been defending women who were pursued by the courts and the police for refusing to wear the hijab. The authorities arrested her again in June 2018 for defending protesters against the mandatory use of the veil.
 
Abdolfattah Soltani: 10 years in prison
Abdolfattah Soltani is a lawyer and one of the co-founders of the Centre for Human Rights Defenders. He has been in detention since 2011. He has spent most of his career as a lawyer defending political prisoners. His health status is very worrying as he suffers from severe heart disorders. Since 2016, no leave has been granted to him.

Mohammad Najafi: 17 years in prison and 74 lashes
Mohammad Najafi is a lawyer who has been particularly active in the defence of Iranian political prisoners. The repression he has been suffering has recently increased. He has been repeatedly convicted for "disturbing the State", "publishing lies", "collaborating with enemy states through conveying information in interviews", "propaganda against the regime" and "insulting the Supreme Leader", "publishing lies on the Internet (...) with the intention of disturbing public opinion".

Amir Salar Davoudi: 30 years in prison, 111 lashes and a fine of approximately $4,000
Amir Salar Davoudi is an Iranian lawyer who has defended many political prisoners and members of religious or ethnic minorities. He is very active on social networks. He was arrested on 20 November 2018. He was convicted on multiple charges: "insulting the authorities", "insulting the Supreme Leader", "propaganda against the regime", "forming a group to undermine national security".

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