Lawyer in Iran stoning case in hiding to avoid arrest, supporters say

Mohammed Mostafaei

Human rights attorney Mohammed Mostafaei (pictured) helped bring the world's attention to his client, Sakineh Mohammedie Ashtiani, a 43-year-old mother of two who was set to be stoned to death for allegedly committing adultery in Iran.

And in the process of his very public campaign to clear his client's name, Mostafaei may have also turned the Iranian government's spotlight on himself.

On Saturday, while the world was rallying in support of Ashtiani, hoping to pressure the Iranian government to reverse her death sentence, human rights groups say Mostafaei was being questioned by Iranian authorities for four straight hours in Evin prison before being released.

His crime? According to Rudi Bakhtiar from the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Mostafaei was being pressured for making the Ashtiani case too public.

"The reason why Mr. Mostafaei is under fire is no doubt because of the worldwide attention concerning the Ashtiani case," she said. "And this is something the Iranian government does not like at all."

Mostafaei told CNN in July that he had been arrested once before, shortly after the post election turmoil in 2009, and that he knew the risks he was taking by speaking so publicly about the Ashtiani case. But he also said that risk wouldn't deter him from speaking out about human rights abuses in Iran.

Now it seems his family may be paying the price. Bakhtiar and other human rights advocates said Mostafaei went into hiding on Saturday to avoid arrest.

But Bakhtiar said, the Iranian authorities still managed to get their message across.

"His wife and his brother in-law were picked up when they went to his office to get his car, " Bakhtiar said. "The authorities were outside Mostafaei's office waiting to arrest him. Instead they arrested his wife and his brother-in-law. Then they called his wife's father and told him, 'We will release them as soon as Mostafaei turns himself in.'"

Mina Ahadi, from the International Campaign Against Execution, says the Iranian government is holding Mostafaei's relatives "hostage," and that the International community needs to keep speaking up and speaking out as they have for Ashtiani.

"I think it is a very dangerous situation for Mr. Mostafaei," she said. "If he were to present himself to the authorities, he might receive 10 to 15 years in prison, and I think we must put pressure on the Islamic regime so that his wife and brother will be released."

Bakhtiar says that unfortunately cases like Mostafaei's are far too common in Iran.

"Other attorneys have been arrested similarly when they have tried to advocate for certain people. This is something the government of Iran has tried over and over again -- to hush, using fear and intimidation tactics and also imprisoning anyone that they feel is threatening," she said. "The Islamic Republic likes to keep their stoning cases and their executions very quiet."

But for now one case Mostafaei has advocated for so diligently remains very public.

Next week, human right's groups say, the Iran judiciary may release their final judgment in the Ashtiani case, deciding whether to reinstate her sentence of death by stoning, execute her by another means or possibly even grant her a reprieve.

Source: CNN, July 28, 2010

Mohommad Mostafaee at large; family members "held hostage"

Evin Prison, Tehran

Iranian authorities should end their efforts to arrest Mohammad Mostafaee, a human rights lawyer whose work came into international focus with his defense of Sakineh Ashtiani, a woman sentenced to be stoned to death for adultery, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. In what is being interpreted as a pressure tactic to force Mostafaee to turn himself in, his wife, Fereshteh Halimi, and brother-in-law, Farhad Halimi, neither of whom is involved in human rights work, were detained at the same time shortly after Mostafaee was last summoned on Saturday, 24 July. Mostafaee was first summoned to a security court for interrogation on 21 July. His current whereabouts are unknown.

"In advocating against the stoning of his client, Mostafaee has broken no laws, rather, he has tried to uphold the laws and rights of Iranian citizens," stated Hadi Ghaemi, spokesperson for the Campaign.

"The apparent effort to halt Mostafaee's important work is in direct violation of Iran’s international human rights obligation to allow for independent legal counsel," he added.

The Campaign also called for the immediate release of Mostafaee's wife and brother-in-law, whom it said were "essentially hostages who have been kidnapped."

In an interview with the Campaign, on 23 July, Mostafaee stated, "I have not committed any crime for which they would want to keep me. My work as a lawyer is defending the accused, and all the processes are done according to the law. There isn't any part that is outside the law. I respect the law and always have respect for the judicial system. I have a professional outlook towards my work and therefore there is no reason for my arrest. However, a potential always exists."

A number of human rights lawyers have been banned from travel, arrested, detained, tortured, and put on trial in the course of Iran's post-election crackdown on dissidents and civil society groups. They include, inter alia, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, Shadi Sadr and Abdolfattah Soltani. Threats against other human rights lawyers have continued.

Iranian judicial authorities routinely disallow lawyers representing prisoners of conscience to meet with their clients, have access to court documents, or to make statements during trials. According to information the Campaign has received from human rights lawyers, prisoners have been ordered by authorities to change their lawyers, and have prevented lawyers from representing clients.

"The warrant for Mohammad Mostafaee’s arrest is further evidence of the erosion of legal rights in Iran," Ghaemi said.

Source: Iran Human Rights, July 28, 2010