2024 International Day of the Endangered Lawyer highlights plight of Iranian lawyers

Wednesday 24 January 2024

On 24 January 2024, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), the Law Society of England and Wales, the International Observatory of Lawyers (OIAD) and the Geneva Bar Association (Ordre des Avocats de Genève) held an event to mark the International Day of the Endangered Lawyer, which this year focused on Iran. Hosted at the Law Society of England and Wales in London, the hybrid event highlighted the plight of Iranian lawyers who face persecution for carrying out their professional duties to uphold human rights and the rule of law.

The event was moderated by IBAHRI Director, Baroness Helena Kennedy KC. Vice President of the Law Society, Richard Atkinson, opened the event and underlined the duty of representative bodies to speak out on behalf of fellow lawyers who bravely undertake their duties under extreme conditions, at great risk to themselves and their families.

Javaid Rehman, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Margaret Satterthwaite, UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, detailed the threats, intimidation, imprisonment, disbarment, and worse faced by lawyers in Iran, and the ways in which the independence of the legal profession is undermined.

An Iranian human rights lawyer spoke anonymously about the lack of access to clients and case documents, targeting with arrest and imprisonment for the same alleged crimes as their clients, and threats and intimidation of lawyers and their families which results in them leaving the profession or the country. “The impact of this abuse is not only felt by the defendants, lawyers, and their families; when people don’t have lawyers who are free to defend them against state oppression, it leads directly to the limit of freedom of speech, association and assembly for all citizens, and the general public will suffer as a result.”

Hadi Ghaemi, Executive Director of the Centre for Human Rights in Iran described the Islamic Republic’s “infatuation” with the death penalty and the lack of fair trial and due process in how it is imposed. Ghaemi also described the parallel guild established by the state with thousands of former security and other state agents issued licences to practice as lawyers.

Finally, Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, highlighted the transnational threat, with people targeted beyond the borders of Iran, including in the UK. Gallagher called on lawyers acting internationally on cases in Iran to recognise the risks to the domestic lawyers and ensure good security hygiene.

In powerful closing remarks, Sandrine Giroud, Vice President of the Geneva Bar Association and member of the International Observatory of Lawyers, named many of the lawyers who have and are still facing persecution in Iran.

Watch the full recording of the event

The IBAHRI also endorsed a report by Coalition for the Day of the Endangered Lawyer which describes the structural problems impacting the situation of lawyers and legal professionals through profiles of a number of individuals at risk. The report underscores the responsibility of other states with regards to the calls for help coming from the Iranian lawyers and human rights defenders and makes concrete recommendations to improve the situation of lawyers in Iran and around the world.

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