Ирандық құқық қорғаушы Абдолфаттаҳ Солтанинің тағдыры

Iranian human rights defender

Abdolfattah Soltani (عبدالفتاح سلطانی; born 2 November 1953) is an Iranian human rights lawyer and spokesman for the Defenders of Human Rights Center. Ebadi and Soltani, along with others, also represented jailed journalist Akbar Ganji during his imprisonment and long hunger strike. Soltani, who won the Nuremberg International Human Rights Award, in 2009, served time in prison in 2005 and 2009, and was sentenced to 18 year prison sentence in 2012.

Soltani was incarcerated for political offences in 2005 and 2009. He received an 18 year prison sentence in 2012 and was banned for an additional 20 years from practicing law. Soltani, along with Seifzadeh, Ebadi and others, also represented jailed journalist Akbar Ganji during his imprisonment and long hunger strike and imprisoned Iranian American academic Haleh Esfandiari.

On 25 July 2005, Soltani criticized the fairness of the trial brought by Kazemi's family. Two days later, a Tehran prosecutor issued a warrant to search Soltani's home and office. On 16 July 2006, he was informed that the Revolutionary Court had sentenced him to five years' imprisonment and the loss of his civic rights for "non respect of the confidentiality of the preliminary enquiry" in the Kazemi case. He appealed the decision and was acquitted on 28 May 2007 of all charges pending against him since July 2005. However, his identity papers were confiscated, preventing him from traveling.

On June 16, four days after the 2009 June election, Abdolfattah Soltani was arrested, his computers seized, and he was again taken to Evin prison. There was no arrest warrant, and no reasons for the arrest were stated. He was held there for 72 days, 17 of which were in solitary confinement and was not allowed to shower for the first 15 days. He lost 15 pounds while in prison. That year, he won the Nuremberg International Human Rights Award.

Soltani was arrested again 10 September 2011 while preparing to defend a group of Baháʼí defendants. In October 2012, Soltani was awarded the International Bar Association's Human Rights Award. Because Soltani was imprisoned, his daughter Maede Soltani received it on his behalf.