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Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada
Item 3: Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on independence of judges and lawyers
Date: 25 June 2026
Speaker: Paria Saremi
Oral Statement to the 62nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council from Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC), Lawyers for Lawyers, The Law Society of England and Wales, Zagros Center for Human Rights (Centre Zagros pour les Droits de l’Homme), and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, NGOs in special consultative status with endorsement by Centre for Supporters of Human Rights (CSHR), NGO without consultative status
Iran: Escalating attacks on lawyers defending human rights
Mr. President,
Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada, Lawyers for Lawyers, The Law Society of England and Wales, Zagros Center for Human Rights, and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, with endorsement by the Centre for Supporters of Human Rights, are gravely concerned by escalating attacks against lawyers in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
For years, Iran has systematically persecuted lawyers to obstruct the defence of human rights. Since nationwide protests in December 2025, access to independent counsel has been severely restricted, especially in security cases. At least 24 human rights lawyers have been detained, while more than 30 face or have received heavy sentences. Authorities misuse legal provisions and court-appointed lawyers to sideline trusted counsel, accelerate convictions, and facilitate death sentences without proper case review. Lawyers continue to face arbitrary arrest, persecution, torture, prolonged pre-trial detention, unfair trials, and imprisonment for their professional work. Recent cases include Mahmood Taravat-Rui, Nazanin Salari, and Mas’oud Ahmadian, sentenced to three years’ imprisonment each, and Abolfazl Ranjbari, sentenced to 22 years after a year’s pre-trial detention on security charges.
We urge this Council to call for immediate release of all arbitrarily detained lawyers and to demand unhindered access to medical care and contact with families and lawyers.
Thank you.
