Arash Keykhosravi
Arash Keykhosravi is a human rights defender, and attorney at law who has represented many human rights defenders including the environmental rights defenders. On August 2018, he had been sentenced to a six-year- prison term, which was subsequently overturned by the Branch 34 of the court of appeals on January 2020.
Hope for political reform in Iran surfaced when President Hassan Rouhani assumed office in 2013 and dozens of opposition political figures and human rights defenders were released. However, violations of the rights to freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly and movement of HRDs continue to be prevalent.
Human rights defenders and journalists are arrested, detained and prosecuted in unfair trials. HRDs continue to receive death threats and are subjected to harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention. They are refused bail or receive extreme bail conditions. HRDs are additionally subjected to systematic surveillance and their family members are targeted. Journalists have been subjected to flogging for criticising the government.
