gooya com : HRW's letter to shahroodi

(September 28, 2000, New York)
Human Rights Watch today condemned the
conviction by a court in Tehran of two Iranian human rights lawyers on
charges of defamation and disseminating false information. Mohsen
Rahami and Shirin Ebadi were both given suspended prison sentences of
fifteen months and banned from practicing law for five years by Court
Branch 16.

The two lawyers were accused of having produced a videotape of an
informant who alleged the involvement of senior government officials and
conservative clerics in orchestrating acts of political violence against
reformists and dissidents. The man featured in the videotape, Amir
Farshad Ebrahimi, a former member of Ansar Hezbollah, was sentenced to
two years of imprisonment on the same charges.

Mr. Rahami is a prominent lawyer who defended the former minister of the
Interior, Abdullah Nouri, as well as 400 students attacked by Tehran
police and extremists during peaceful protests for press freedom in July
1999. Ms. Ebadi is well known for her work on children's and women's
rights. "This prosecution punishes these lawyers because they are
prominent human rights activists," said Hanny Megally, executive
director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights
Watch.

Moreover, the two lawyers and Mr. Ebrahimi were not allowed a fair trial
in accordance with either Iranian or international law. All the
defendants were held for weeks in pre-trial detention without access to
legal counsel. Mr. Ebrahimi did not have access to legal counsel until
the final two hearings in the case and the court did not examine the
validity of Ebrahimi's allegations.

The political nature of the trial appeared to be underscored by the
publication of the verdict in government controlled media before the
defendants or their legal representatives were informed.

Human Rights Watch is calling for the convictions against the defendants
to be dismissed. The two lawyers should be permitted to resume their
practices and Mr. Ebrahimi should be released from prison. If there is
evidence of the involvement of any of the defendants in criminal
activities then they should be charged and given a fair, public trial
in accordance with international standards.