UN experts: Iran should stop the intimidation and prosecution of independent lawyers.
On November 9, UN experts demanded that the Iranian authorities put an immediate end to the harassment, intimidation and prosecution of independent lawyers and interference with the independence of lawyers' organizations.
These experts emphasized in their statements that "independent lawyers are persecuted and feared more and more due to their professional activities and their protection of human rights. This situation also harms their clients and makes them more vulnerable to arbitrary detention, coerced confessions, unfair trials and heavy sentences.
According to this statement, between September 2025 and September 2026, at least 135 lawyers faced judicial or security measures; including arrest, summons, imprisonment, suspension or expulsion and ban on leaving the country. Also, according to reports, at least 23 lawyers, including five women, were arrested in January and February 2026 after nationwide mock interceptions. The UN experts stated that according to reports, the authorities ordered lawyers not to accept cases related to the protest, and the courts prevented the presence of independent lawyers to defend the accused in politically sensitive trials.
These experts said: "In the first stages of the investigation, the choice of lawyers by the accused is often limited to lawyers, and the access of independent lawyers to clients and cases is also limited."
They added: "When independent lawyers are arrested or threatened in order to protect their clients, the consequences go far beyond the legal profession: defendants are deprived of one of their most basic guarantees against abuse and injustice."
Read the full version of this report on Radio Perda's website.