Human Rights Lawyer Amirsalar Davoudi Arrested to Serve Sentence Without Notice

Human rights lawyer, Amirsalar Davoudi has been arrested to serve his sentence without notice and while his retrial was under examination for a list of breaches.

Speaking to Iran Human Rights, Tanaz Kolahchian, a lawyer and Amirsalar’s wife, explained the circumstances of her husband’s arrest: “On June 22, Amirhossein Tarian, the judge at Branch One of the Enforcement Unit told Amirsalar’s lawyer, Amir Raisian to come to Evin Court with his client on June 25 to assess his case.

According to Ms Kolahchian, Amir Raisian had in recent months submitted an appeal with an exhaustive list of breaches in the retrial by the Revolutionary Court which they were to examine on the day.

“When they went to the court on June 25, nothing was said about the sentence being enforced, they didn’t even give him the legally required notice of summons. Amirsalar and his lawyer were just told to return the next day for further examinations of the case,” she added.

On June 26, Amirsalar went to the court accompanied by his lawyer to further examine the breaches in Amirsalar’s case in the interrogation phase and his due process rights. The meeting with the judge had gone well and lasted until 10 am.

“At around 10:30, Mr Nasiripour, the head of Evin Court, entered the judge’s room for a private meeting that lasted until 12:30. While Mr Nasiripour is the head of the court and the Enforcement Unit is under his command, he said he hadn’t been able to convince the judge after he left the room,” Tanaz Kolahchian said.

It was then that Amirsalar Davoudi was informed that his sentence was being implemented.

Speaking about the retrial by the Revolutionary Court, Ms Kolahchian said: “According to judicial procedures, lower courts are supposed to comply with judgements by superior courts but my husband’s retrial at Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court was just a ‘formality.’ The judge didn’t even ask the defendant whether he accepted the charges brought against him. In fact, the judge completely ignored the Supreme Court ruling in upholding the sentence.”

Background

Amirsalar Davoudi is a lawyer with a history of defending political prisoners and ethnic and religious minorities. He was arrested by security forces on 19 November 2018 and transferred to Ward 241 of Evin Prison. Prior to his arrest, security officers had raided his office and home, confiscating a number of his personal files and belongings. He was arrested in relation to his Telegram channel “Without Retouch,” where he discussed breaches in the judicial process, the judicial harassment of lawyers and human rights abuses.

On 1 June 2019, Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court presided over by Judge Salavati, sentenced Amirsalar to 111 lashes and a total of 30 years in prison: 15 years for “forming a group to overthrow the political system (through his Telegram channel), propaganda against the system, publishing lies and insulting officials and the leader” amongst other charges.

His request for a retrial was granted by Branch 41 of the Supreme Court on June 13, and he was released on bail. A month later, Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court upheld the original ruling by Branch 15. Amirsalar’s lawyer had submitted an appeal on the breaches in the case which was under examination at the time of his sudden arrest.

According to his wife, Amirsalar was banned from practicing law while on bail and other than several Clubhouse appearances, he had not taken part in any activities that may have been a breach of his bail. In a phone call from prison, Amirsalar told his wife that he was being held in Ward Four of Evin Prison.