Persianicons – Abdolfattah Soltani, a prominent Iranian human rights lawyer was sentenced to 18 years in prison, exile to Borazjan (a city in Bushehr Province, Iran) plus a twenty-year ban from practicing law!

Soltani is a well-known Iranian human rights lawyer, and spokesman for the Defenders of Human Rights Center, which was co-founded by the Nobel Peace Prize-winner Shirin Ebadi. He has twice been incarcerated in the Islamic Republic of Iran for political offences in 2005 and 2009.

Abdolfattah Soltani, was arrested again on 10 September 2011. He had been previously detained on other occasions for his devoted service to his clients, including well-known prisoners of conscience, as well as his tenacious advocacy on behalf of human rights in Iran. He is being held in Ward 209 of Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison.

Mr. Soltani, along with Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, co-founded the Center for Human Rights Defenders, which was forcibly shut down by the Iranian authorities in December 2008 and they both served as lawyer for the family of slain Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, who was murdered in Evin Prison in July 2003. They also both represented — along with others — jailed journalist Akbar Ganji during his imprisonment and long hunger strike.

He is reportedly facing charges of “propaganda against the regime,” “establishing the Defenders of Human Rights Center,” “assembly and collusion against national security,” and “accepting an unlawful prize,” apparently referring to the Nuremberg International Human Rights Award, which Mr. Soltani received in 2009.

On June 16, four days after the 2009 June election, Abdolfattah Soltani was arrested, his computers seized, and he was taken to an unknown destination, which turned out to be Evin Prison. There was no arrest warrant, and no reasons for the arrest were stated. He was held there for 72 days, 17 of which were in solitary confinement and was not allowed to shower for the first 15 days. He lost 15 pounds while in prison.

Mr.Soltani had also been the lawyer for seven leaders of Iran’s persecuted Baha’i community who are currently serving twenty-year prison sentences. He was preparing to defend a number of other Baha’is who were arrested recently for their involvement with the Baha’i Institute of Higher Education, founded to provided educational opportunities for Baha’i students who are systematically excluded from Iran’s universities.

Please join an International Campaign on facebook in calling for the release of lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani.