THE BREAKDOWN: Iranian authorities have arrested, summoned, or imprisoned at least 32 independent defense attorneys since January 2026, according to a report by the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). The targeted campaign effectively strips political detainees and death row inmates of legal representation following a wave of anti-government protests earlier this year. Human rights advocates warn the crackdown is a systematic effort by the state to eliminate judicial oversight and fast-track political executions.
Iranian authorities have intensified pressure on the country’s independent legal community, targeting at least 32 lawyers with arrests, summonses, and prison sentences during the first five months of 2026.
Data compiled by the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) between January 8 and June 11, 2026, indicates a coordinated effort to obstruct legal representation in politically sensitive cases.
The sweep comes in the wake of a major government crackdown on nationwide protests in January 2026. Activists report that at least 42 political executions have been carried out since March 2026 alone, following expedited trials where defendants were denied access to independent counsel and convictions relied on confessions allegedly extracted under torture.
“The Islamic Republic’s assault on independent lawyers is an assault on the right to a defense itself,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of CHRI. “At a time when thousands of political detainees remain in prison following the January 2026 crackdown, the government’s effort to intimidate, imprison, and silence independent attorneys is designed to ensure that abuses can take place without scrutiny and that victims are denied meaningful access to justice.”
The tactics used against legal professionals vary heavily by geography. In provincial cities outside of Tehran, lawyers face severe judicial blockades because security and political cases are routed exclusively through Revolutionary Courts located in provincial capitals.
A human rights attorney familiar with conditions in these regional areas told CHRI that smaller towns completely lack these specialized courts, causing immense logistical barriers.
“Access to information about these cases—and even the ability to pursue, present, or review them through local judicial institutions—is severely limited. This creates enormous challenges for lawyers in smaller cities who take on political and security-related cases and, naturally, they are subjected to harsher forms of judicial repression, including arrest and bans on practicing law.”
By contrast, lawyers operating in the capital city of Tehran face what peers describe as “soft repression”—a system of continuous intimidation, interrogations, and threats intended to control the bar association without triggering formal arrests.
Following the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement and the January 2026 demonstrations, numerous capital-based attorneys were summoned by state security and forced to sign written pledges to stay away from political cases.
“Most recently, two lawyers were summoned simply for informing the public about the case of a prisoner sentenced to death,” a Tehran-based attorney stated in an interview with CHRI.
The judicial campaign has struck high-profile human rights advocates and regional defense lawyers alike. In Shiraz, Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court sentenced attorneys Nazanin Salari, Mahmoud Taravat-Rouy, and Masoud Ahmadian to three years in prison each on charges of “assembly and collusion to commit crimes against national security” and “propaganda against the state.” The court also revoked their passports and issued two-year travel bans.
In Kerman, attorney Fatemeh Rohandeh—who represented multiple clients jailed during the 2022 protests—was arrested on May 19, 2026. Authorities accused her of violating a judicial supervision order because she maintained membership on a domestic social media platform. Rohandeh had already served a temporary detention in March and faced a one-year professional suspension for publicly supporting detained protesters.
In Tehran, prominent human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh was arrested on May 2 before being released on bail, while attorney Seyed Mohammadreza Razavi-Fard was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Qom Revolutionary Court on June 17.
Other defense lawyers have been swept into custody without publicly disclosed charges or clear grounds for detention. Among those held are Elham Zeraatpisheh, Setareh Ansari, Jafar Keshavarz, Jafar Zarei, and Sepideh Taheri. Meanwhile, lawyers Amir Raisian and Milad Panahipour were summoned to Tehran’s Security Prosecutor’s Office after speaking publicly about their client, Ehsan Hosseinipour, a demonstrator currently facing a death sentence in connection with the January protests.
This multi-year squeeze on the legal profession follows a precedent set during the 2022 demonstrations, during which at least 66 lawyers were detained for defending protesters, forcing 11 into long-term imprisonment and others into exile. CHRI also noted that at least three female lawyers have died under suspicious circumstances immediately after being released from state custody.
In light of the findings, CHRI has called on the United Nations and international governments to intercede. The organization is demanding that the Iranian judiciary immediately drop all outstanding charges against these legal professionals and comply with the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, which protect attorneys from intimidation, harassment, or improper institutional interference while performing their duties.
READ: ‘I Think The Son Of A B**ch Is Just Going To Walk Away’: James Carville Predicts Trump Will Resign
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox.
