A prominent human rights lawyer and activist has been arrested in Iran, sources close to him told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda.
Amirsalar Davoodi was arrested in court in the central city of Isfahan on October 11 while defending a client, said the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
The charges against him are unknown, and it is unclear where he is being held.
Davoodi’s arrest comes amid an intensifying crackdown on dissent in the Islamic republic, where the authorities have jailed lawyers, activists, journalists, and intellectuals.
The growing clampdown coincided with the mass protests against Iran’s clerical rulers in January and the ongoing war with the United States and Israel that began in late February.
Mass Protests
Davoodi represents several people who have been arrested for their roles in the nationwide protests.
Among them is Mahshad Keshani, a protester and the fiance of Alireza Sepahi, a demonstrator who was executed on October 4.
Before Sepahi’s hanging, Davoodi held a wedding ceremony in absentia for the couple. Davoodi also labelled his client’s execution “unfair” and challenged the head of Iran’s judiciary to a live TV debate.
Sepahi is among the five people who have been convicted and executed for their alleged role in the killing of four Iranian special forces members in Isfahan on January 8.
Seven other defendants are also at risk of execution over the case. The families of many of the defendants say they have been tortured in prison and forced to confess to charges they deny.
Several of them have been charged with moharebeh, or “waging war against God,” aiding and abetting moharebeh, destruction of public property amounting to moharebeh, assembly and collusion, and propaganda against the Islamic republic.
Iran has witnessed a surge in executions of what human rights groups consider political prisoners — from demonstrators to alleged members of banned groups and those convicted of spying — since the start of the war with the United States and Israel on February 28.
Davoodi, who has a history of representing political prisoner cases, has been repeatedly arrested and jailed.
In 2019, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison, which was reduced to 15 years on appeal. After serving over two years in prison, he was released on bail.
In 2023, Davoodi was awarded the Ludovic Trarieux International Human Rights Prize, one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious international human rights award given to a lawyer by their peers.