Tehran - Lawyers representing some of the more prominent
people detained after Iran's disputed June 12 presidential election
on Saturday said they had not yet been able to meet with their
clients.
Saleh Nikbakht, who has been appointed to defend Newsweek
correspondent Maziar Bahari said he had yet to pay a visit to him in
prison.
Bahari was arrested in the aftermath of the poll that sparked
widespread protest. The government has accused Bahari of having
breached national security, according to Nikbakht. The journalist is
expected to be tried in the revolutionary court which is in charge
for such security offences.
Nikbakht described Bahari as an experienced and renowned
documentary maker who had definitely not violated professional
ethics.
Nikbakht is also representing former government officials who were
detained following the protests over alleged fraud in the election,
including Mohammad-Ali Abtahi, the deputy of former president
Mohammad Khatami.
Abol-Samad Khoramshahi, the lawyer appointed to defend a detained
Iranian employee of the British embassy, meanwhile also said that he
neither met his client nor seen the charges against him.
Khoramshahi identified the detainee as Hossein Rassam, a senior
political analyst at the embassy who has a journalistic background.
Rassam previously worked as an analyst for the Japanese embassy in
Tehran and is widely known within diplomatic and journalistic circles
as an expert on Iranian politics.
According to police reports, more than 1,000 people, including
former officials, dissidents, journalists and demonstrators, have
been arrested in recent weeks. Most have since been released.
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