Mohammad Mostafaei

Human rights lawyer Mr Mohammad Mostafaei has been subject to interrogation and pressure by the Iranian authorities and it is reported that he has gone into hiding. An arrest warrant has been issued against him. On 24 July 2010, his wife and brother-in-law were arrested, and it is thought that this measure has been taken as a means of pressuring Mohammad Mostafaei to hand himself over to the authorities.

Further Information

Mohammad Mostafaei is a human rights lawyer, who has worked in particular with juvenile offenders and on death penalty cases. He was previously part of a network of volunteer lawyers working on a 'Campaign for Law without Stoning', which lobbied for the removal of provisions allowing for death by stoning under Iranian law. Most recently, he has acted as defence attorney for Ms Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning after being found guilty of adultery. He also writes for the Iranian media and publishes a blog. It is reported that he was previously arrested in 2009.

On 21 July 2010, Mohammad Mostafaei received a summons to attend a branch of the Office of the Prosecutor in Evin Prison. He went there on 24 July, where he was interrogated for at least one hour prior to being granted permission to leave. Later the same day he received a second summons by telephone. That evening he wrote “It is possible they will arrest me” on a social networking site. He also wrote on his blog that his questioning had focused mainly on his defence of juvenile offenders and about a bank account he used to hold blood money to give to the family of victims. The authorities later issued a warrant for his arrest. Since then his whereabouts are unknown; it is thought he may have gone into hiding, but it is also possible that he has been arrested.

Mohammad Mostafaei's offices were searched by the authorities later on the same evening of 24 July 2010. Shortly afterwards, his wife and brother-in-law were arrested. They are reportedly being held in Evin Prison in Tehran. His wife, Ms Fereshteh Halimi, called her parents to confirm her arrest and detention, along with that of her brother, Mr Farhad Halimi. They may be held on suspicion of hiding a person who is wanted by the authorities.

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani's case has received widespread international attention in recent weeks since her children launched a campaign for her release. Mohammad Mostafaei has been outspoken in his criticism of the case and the judiciary, giving interviews to the international press as well as through publication of an open letter. The authorities have reacted harshly to the publicity surrounding the case, with Iranian state television broadcasting a report in which it denounced as terrorists those who brought Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani's sentencing to international attention.

Front Line believes that the interrogation, pressuring and arrest warrant against Mohammad Mostafaei, and the arrest of Fereshteh Halimi and Farhad Halimi, are a direct result of his legitimate work in the defence of human rights, particularly with respect to the death penalty. Front Line sees this as part of an ongoing pattern of harassment and intimidation of those who are vocal in their criticism of the Iranian authorities. Front Line fears for the physical and psychological integrity of Mohammad Mostafaei, Fereshteh Halimi, Farhad Halimi, and all those working on the aforementioned case.