Iranian Lawyer Keikhosravi Jailed over Anti-Islamic Republic Statement

Prominent Iranian lawyer Arash Keikhosravi was incarcerated on September 25 to serve a one-year prison term, according to his sister. 

Azita Keikhosravi said on social media that her brother was arrested at the prosecutor's office and subsequently taken to Tehran’s Evin prison.

Keikhosravi has been sentenced to prison for endorsing a statement titled "The majority of Iranians no longer want the Islamic Republic," she wrote on X.

This statement, endorsed by 40 lawyers, was published last November during the nationwide protests sparked by the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini. 

The signatory asserted that Iranian citizens "have become acutely aware of the true nature of the ruling clerics and are no longer deceived by their false promises and deceitful rhetoric."

Keikhosravi had previously been imprisoned for his political and human rights activities. 

He was among a group of lawyers who had plans to file a complaint against the leadership of the Islamic Republic in 2021 for obstructing the import of the COVID-19 vaccine into Iran. 

These lawyers were detained before they could formally submit their complaint.

In this case, Keikhosravi received a two-year prison sentence, a one-year suspension from practicing law and a one-year prohibition from engaging in media activities for "establishing and managing hostile groups," "propaganda activities against the system" and "disrupting public order."