The trial of the lawyer of Mahsa Amini, the young Iranian whose death in September 2022 sparked a large protest movement, has opened in Tehran on charges of “propaganda against the Islamic Republic,” local media reported on Wednesday.
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The first hearing in the trial of Me Saleh Nikbakht “took place on Tuesday and he was informed of the accusation of propaganda activity against the Islamic Republic because he spoke to foreign and local media, in particular about the Mahsa Amini affair,” his lawyer said, Me Ali Rezaï, quoted by the daily Etemad.
This trial begins almost a year after the death on September 16, 2022, of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested at the age of 22 by the moral police who accused her of violating the strict dress code for women.
According to Etemad, Mr. Nikbakht’s lawyer, who appeared free, argued for his acquittal by asserting that his client had “only criticized the authorities’ management of the country” in his interviews.
If convicted, Mr Nikbakht faces a prison sentence of three months to one year.
At the end of September 2022, he stated that the Amini family had filed a complaint against the police, who arrested the young girl.
The lawyer, originally from Kurdistan Province (West), has represented many Iranian figures over the course of his long career, including filmmaker Jafar Panahi, who was released on bail in February after seven months in prison.
Hundreds of people, including dozens of members of the security forces, were killed in the late 2022 protests. Thousands of protesters were also arrested, accused by authorities of taking part in “riots” instigated by Westerners in the country.