Trial of Amini Family’s Lawyer Goes On

Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court has held a second hearing in the trial of Saleh Nikbakht, the lawyer who represents Mahsa Amini’s family.

Nikbakht was charged with “propaganda activities” against the Islamic Republic over interviews he gave to domestic and foreign media, in which he criticized the government's handling of Amini’s death and its aftermath.

The Ministry of Intelligence, which is the plaintiff in the case, alleges that the defendant has been "motivating" the Amini family to seek legal redress for their daughter's death in police custody in September last year.

The first court hearing took place on August 29.

"The court proceedings were relatively brief, as the court's president had prepared written questions for me to answer in advance," Nikbakht told Radio Farda after the second court hearing. 

"It seems that both the expert of the Ministry of Intelligence, who provided an explanation, and the court itself were focused on understanding why I did not accept the results of the forensic examination," he added. 

Mahsa Amini, 22, died during a visit to Tehran on September 16, 2022, after she was arrested by the morality police for allegedly wearing the mandatory headscarf improperly.

The authorities claim the young woman died of natural causes, but eyewitnesses and her family say she was beaten while inside a police van that took her to a detention center.

Amini’s death sparked months of nationwide protests. More than 500 people were killed in the clampdown by security forces and over 20,000 were unlawfully detained, including dozens of lawyers. Following biased trials, the judiciary has handed down stiff sentences, including the death penalty, to protesters.