ABC blog

Iranian Lawyer Mostafa Torkehamedan has announced via Twitter that that his request to take on the legal representation of environmental activists being held at Evin prison has yet to be approved two months after submission. Torkehamedan sent the request to Ward 2A of Evin Prison at the order of Evin’s supervising assistant prosecutor. Describing the inaction as a “defeat,” Torkehamedan demanded to know: “What will be the outcome of investigating lawyerless defendants after 70 days of solitary confinement, other than discrediting the investigation and wasting time and resources?”

The arrested activists have been denied access to both legal counsel and family visits since their late January 2017 arrest, according to reporting from Human Rights Activists News Agency. A judiciary spokesman has stated that the charges entered against them are “espionage-related.” In Februarry, Kavus Seyed Emami, a prominent environmental activist, died in custody. Officials called his death a suicide.

Iran is bound by its commitments in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to respect such defendants’ right to a fair trial, which includes minimum guarantees of “(communicating) with counsel of (the defendant’s) own choosing” and “a fair and public hearing.”

For more on failures of due process in the Iranian judiciary and the urgent need to safeguard defendant’s rights, watch: “Access to a Lawyer, a Matter of Life and Death”