The suppression of independent lawyers in the Islamic Republic—particularly during protests and in cases involving political and ideological prisoners—is part of a broader judicial-security strategy designed to dismantle the right to legal defense. In a system where the judiciary, rather than acting as a neutral institution, functions as an extension of the security and intelligence apparatus, the presence of an independent lawyer poses a significant obstacle to the narratives constructed by interrogators and security agencies. Consequently, the judiciary seeks to dismantle the legal support networks available to defendants by arresting, threatening, and revoking the licenses of courageous lawyers, removing obstacles to advancing its objectives.
Once the system places defendants and their families in a legal vacuum through the suppression of independent lawyers, the second phase of this strategy begins: the imposition of court-appointed and security-vetted lawyers. These lawyers, selected by the judiciary itself, do not enter cases to defend the accused but instead facilitate harsh sentences and the issuance of death penalties. Examining the elimination of independent legal defenders is therefore essential to understanding the structure of show trials within the Revolutionary Courts.
The Deception Mechanism: Misusing Legal Procedures to Expedite Harsh Sentences
The elimination of independent lawyers transforms the environment of the Revolutionary Courts into a completely one-sided arena, allowing security agents under the guise of “court-appointed lawyers” to carry out the indictment scenario without any hindrance. By maintaining a calculated silence in the face of torture and refusing to present exculpatory evidence, these lawyers effectively hold the defendant’s substantive right to defense hostage.
The most critical stage of this sham process is neutralizing the defendant’s right to appeal; these agents deliberately burn the statutory 20-day appeal window by promptly filing pro-forma and hollow petitions. This rushed action is carried out with two security objectives: first, blocking the path for the potential entry of independent lawyers in higher stages, and second, preventing public opinion and human rights organizations from paying attention. As a result of this judicial engineering, the cases of protesters are routed quietly, as quickly as possible, directly toward the gallows or long-term imprisonment.
Objective Facts of the Arrest and Suppression of Protesters’ Independent Lawyers:
The independent legal community of Iran has paid a heavy price for defending detainees, political prisoners, and prisoners of conscience. The following statistics and cases illustrate the physical dimensions of this systematic crackdown:
- Widespread Arrests and Indeterminate Detention in Prison:
- Bahar Sahraeian: An attorney-at-law and member of the Fars Bar Association who was arrested on May 17, 2026, precisely while performing her professional duties at the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz. Following the arraignment of charges such as “assembly and collusion” and “propaganda against the state,” she was transferred to Adelabad Prison.
- Shima Ghousheh: A first-class attorney-at-law in Tehran who was arrested on January 17, 2026, due to her public declaration of readiness to accept the representation of protest detainees and was subjected to pressure in the solitary confinement cells of Ward 209 of Evin Prison.
- Enayatollah Keramati (Karami): A member of the Judiciary Lawyers’ Center in Mashhad who was arrested after a raid on his residence on January 10, 2026, and transferred to Vakilabad Prison.
- Nazanin Baradaran (Tehran), Hossein Shokri (Ilam), Zohreh Javani (Tehran), and Sepideh Taheri (Bandar Abbas): Independent lawyers who were all arrested between January and March 2026 for defending the rights of protesters and remain in prison.
- Amir Bahadorifar and Dariush Ganjehpour Qashqai: Two attorneys-at-law from the Fars Bar Association who were arrested in Shiraz on January 22 and 25, 2026, respectively, and transferred to Adelabad Prison to thwart their legal defenses.
- Teymour Salari: A defense attorney for political and ideological prisoners who was arrested on February 1, 2026, and remains incarcerated in Evin Prison, Tehran.
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Iran: Crackdown on Independent Lawyers: Denying Protesters the Right to Defense
