02/12/2026
This is a serious and escalating human rights crisis 🚨
In recent months and years, independent lawyers and human rights defenders in Iran have been systematically arrested, summoned, threatened, and imprisoned simply for doing their jobs ⚖️ This is not about isolated cases. It is about the deliberate dismantling of the independence of the legal profession and the public’s right to justice.
One of the latest cases is Mohammad Hadi Jafarpour, an attorney at law and human rights activist. He was arrested on 28 Dey 1404 (January 18, 2026) and transferred to Adelabad Prison in Shiraz. His detention is part of a wider, coordinated campaign to silence independent legal voices.
Among those currently detained, imprisoned, or directly targeted are Shima Qoushe, Mohammad Hadi Jafarpour, Enayatollah Karamati, Nazanin Baradaran, Mehdi Ansari, Jafar Keshavarz, Jafar Zarei, Mehran Ansari, Hossein Shokri, Zohreh Javani, Sepideh Taheri, Alireza Farzaneh Jajermou, Masoud Shirmardi Shah Qasemi, and Teimour Salari ⚠️ These names represent only half of the lawyers currently at risk.
When independent lawyers are silenced, their clients lose access to fair trials, due process collapses, and the entire justice system is weakened ⚖️🕯️ Detaining lawyers does not just violate their rights. It strips citizens of legal defense and removes one of the last remaining safeguards against abuse of power.
The international community, human rights organizations, bar associations, and global media must respond with urgency 🌍 Silence enables repression. Pressure saves lives. Independent lawyers must be released immediately.
