Iranian Dissident's Lawyer Released From Prison

Eli Lake, The New York Sun:

One of the lawyers representing Iranian opposition leader and journalist Akbar Ganji was released from prison last weekend after a group of supporters signed over the deed of a Tehran property to the regime as bail.

On his release, Abdolfattah Soltani gave interviews to Iranian state newspapers saying he had been detained for long stretches in solitary confinement and now identified with the plight of many of his dissident clients who remain incarcerated.

The release of Mr. Soltani, first arrested on July 30 on vague and so far secret charges of nuclear espionage, comes less than two weeks before Akbar Ganji is scheduled to be freed having served out his sentence at Evin prison on March 17. READ MORE

There is no evidence the release of Mr. Soltani suggests a more tolerant policy towards dissent in Iran. An analysis of the Iranian press by Human Rights Watch released on February 27 found that 10 prisoners were executed between January 20 and February 20 this year, with another 21 sentenced to death.

Iranian student organizers have told the Sun that most opposition leaders are now in hiding following threats from the Iranian internal intelligence agency.

Nonetheless, Mr. Soltani's spirit does not appear to have been broken. In an interview to Rooz online, he said, "Since most of my clients are political prisoners, these last seven months were an interesting experience to go through, albeit a sad one."

He added, "Now I can better understand what the political prisoners are going through, which can be devastating. Now I am in a better position to reveal human rights abusers of this country."

He told Rooz online he expects his court trial to begin after the Nowruz new year celebrations this month and that he has not read the charges or evidence against him. "Even I have not read my file," he said.

From Iranian press reports, it appears Mr. Soltani was released after he called the bluff of the state that set his bail at $1 billion Iranian riyals ($109,000.) His supporters handed over title deeds worth that sum.

Mr. Soltani worked closely with Nobel peace prize winning lawyer Shirin Ebadi on Mr. Ganji's defense against charges of publishing articles and a book blaming senior regime officials for a string of murders of Iranian intellectuals in the late 1990s, a crime known as the chain murders. The executive director of the middle east division of Human Rights Watch, Sarah Whitson, said yesterday, "We are happy to see the Iranian judiciary has complied with Iranian law by freeing Mr. Soltani on bail. But the real test will be whether or not Akbar Ganji is re leased this month. We know the charges against him are completely baseless."

The deputy director for research of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Patrick Clawson, concurred yesterday. "The big question is are they going to let Ganji go or not? And so far I see no indications that the government is going to do it," he said.

Mr. Clawson added that it was typical in Iran to let a few political prisoners out of jail before Nowruz, the equivalent of Arab tyrants freeing such prisoners at the end of Ramadan.