At least 44 Iranian lawyers have been arrested after representing people detained during three months of nationwide protests sparked by the September 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody for allegedly wearing a head scarf improperly.
According to a lawyer's group that follows up on the status of detainees, 20 of the lawyers who have been arrested since September have been released on bail, while the rest are still in jail.
Reports further indicate that stiff sentences have been issued to at least two Iranian lawyers.
Among them, Sina Yousefi, the vice chairman of the Lawyers' Human Rights Commission in East Azarbaijan Province, was sentenced to six months in prison and banned from leaving the country for two years. His electronic devices were also confiscated.
Negin Kiani, a lawyer and a member of the East Azerbaijan Province Bar Association, has also been sentenced to one year in prison, banned from leaving the country, and banned from using mobile phones.
Kiani said that "propaganda against the regime" was one of the charges brought against her by the court.
Anger over the death of Amini has prompted thousands of Iranians to take to the streets to demand more freedoms and women's rights in the biggest threat to the Islamic government since the 1979 revolution.
Since the beginning of the demonstrations and the widespread arrest of protesters by the security forces of the Islamic republic, several lawyers have announced that they will represent the detainees for free.
In many cases, the lawyers of anti-government protesters said Iran's judiciary denied them access to case material to defend their clients.
Among them is Ali Sharifzadeh Ardakani, the lawyer of an Iranian protester sentenced to death who said in a tweet on December 15 that, when he went to court to meet with Mohammad Hosseini and appeal his death sentence, he was refused access to case material and was not allowed to file a power of attorney document "contrary to the law on criminal procedure."
More than 400 people have been killed in the crackdown, according to rights groups. Several thousand more have been arrested, including many protesters, as well as journalists, lawyers, activists, digital rights defenders, and others.
