Amirsalar Davoudi


Amirsalar Davoudi is an Iranian human rights lawyer. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison and 111 lashes for his human rights work.
The charges on which he has been convicted include "insulting officials", "insulting the Supreme Leader", and "spreading propaganda against the system". He was arrested on 20 November 2018 and has been detained in Tehran's Evin prison with extremely limited access to his family and lawyer.
Amnesty International calls for his immediate and unconditional release.
Davoudi, in the past years, has been defending some of Iranian political prisoners and religious and ethnic minorities. He was also active on social media criticizing the violation of human rights in his country.

Arrest

On 20 November 2018 security forces arrested Davoudi in his office in Tehran and transferred him to Evin prison where many other political prisoners are kept.
His arrest was part of a crackdown against active lawyers. Davoudi was among four lawyers arrested for their human rights activities.

Charges and sentence

Davoudi was later convicted on charges including "insulting the Supreme Leader".
He was also charged with "spreading propaganda against the system" through an interview with the Voice of America television channel and also by creating an account on the social media messaging system Telegram, in which he wrote about human rights violations in Iran.
On 1 June 2019 Amirsalar Davoudi was sentenced to 30 years in jail plus 111 lashes.

Hunger Strike

In its annual report in February 2020, Amnesty International reported that Lawyer and human rights activist Amirsalar Daoudi, who is presently jailed at Tehran Evin prison, has been on hunger strike since 9 February 2020.

International reaction

Philip Luther, Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa to the Amnesty International, called Davoudi's detainment a shocking injustice and that he was being punished for his advocating human rights. Philip Luther called for Davoudi's immediate release.

Awards