Prominent Iranian lawyer imprisoned for criticising government

Iranian lawyer and rights activist Mohsen Borhani has been imprisoned for speaking out against the government.

During a speech during Pezeshkian’s presidential election campaign, he referred to the suppression of Iran’s security forces' use of “batons, electric shockers, and pellet bullets” during the nationwide 2022 uprising sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in morality police custody.

Borhani was transferred to prison to serve a prison sentence according to Iran's judiciary media outlet, Mizan on Saturday.

"Convicted earlier during the handling of a legal case in the judicial courts, Mohsen Borhani's sentence was finalized, and he was subsequently summoned to prison to serve his sentence," Mizan wrote.

Last August, a joint case by multiple Iranian security and intelligence institutions was filed against Borhani following his criticism of the government for suppressing citizens, especially women flouting hijab laws.

He was also fired from his job at Tehran University amidst a purge of professors supporting the protests.

At the time, in a post on X, he announced that among those who had filed a case against him were Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organization and a member of the Guardian Council, among others.

"How many against one?" he added.