Iranian attorneys criticized by hardline cleric

Mohammad Emami Kashani

Mohammad Emami Kashani, Tehran’s Friday Mass Prayers leader today, told worshippers: “Defending the false is religiously prohibited and court attorneys should only defend the rightful.”

Fars news agency reports that Kashani warned attorneys saying: “When they read a file and realize that the client is not in the right, they should not defend them.”

According to Article 35 of the Islamic Republic Constitution, in every court both parties have the right to engage an attorney, and if they cannot get one, the conditions for engaging one must be provided for them.

Last year the judiciary tried to issue new bylaws which according to lawyers would limit the independence of Iran’s Bar Association and put them under the control of the government.

Widespread protests by lawyers forced the judiciary to put a stop on these bylaws. However, in the past year of election protests, many court attorneys have been put under pressure for choosing to defend dissidents and reformist figures. Many of these attorneys have been even arrested and interrogated.

Mohammad Emami Kashani also insisted that judges must maintain their full independence and no one should try to influence court judges in their decisions.

The Campaign for Human Rights in Iran recently issued a report stating that members of the Ministry of Intelligence have been heavily involved in the judicial processes against political prisoners from the very interrogation to the point of trial and sentencing.