Iran is taking into custody lawyers of jailed activists and journalists, says report

Authorities in Iran have arrested lawyers of jailed journalists and activists, according to a report in the Iranian newspaper Ham Mihan. One such lawyer is Mohammad Ali Kamfirouzi, who was reportedly a lawyer of many journalists and activists. The lawyer's lawyer, Mohammed Ali Bagherpour has said that he was arrested without any summons. Mohammad Ali Kamfirouzi reportedly also does not know what the charges against him are. 

Mohammad Ali Kamfirouzi was representing Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, who are two journalists from Iran. These two journalists were covering Mahsa Amini's death and the protests that erupted after her death. Niloufar Hamedi was arrested for visiting the hospital where Mahsa Amini was admitted. Elaheh Mohammadi was arrested for travelling to Mahsa Amini's hometown, to cover the funeral. Both of them have been charged with "conspiring against national security" and "propaganda against the state" just because they decided to cover the Iran protests. 

Nearly 40 journalists have been arrested

Reporters Without Borders has demanded that both of them should be released immediately, although it is unlikely that they will be released any time soon. According to a report from Voice of America, Niloufar Hamedi worked for the Shargh, which is a reformist newspaper. Shargh has published a list of around 40 journalists who have been arrested for covering the Iran protests. Elaheh Mohammadi worked for Ham Mihan. The charges they are facing are capital crimes, and now even their lawyer has been arrested. It is unclear what their fate will be. 

25 lawyers have been arrested 

Eleven people have been sentenced to death, due to their participation in the protests. Two out of the eleven have already been executed. According to an assessment by Iran Human Rights, a NGO based in Norway, 469 people have lost their lives as a result of Iranian regime's violent crackdown on protestors. The number of lawyers who have been arrested is nearly 25. The 1988 massacre of thousands of political prisoners, many of whom were supporters of the opposition group, the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK). The prisoners were reportedly killed en masse and their bodies disposed of in mass graves is one of the most notorious examples of human rights violation in Iran.