10 December 2012 – On this year’s Human Rights Day, human rights lawyers like Nasrin Sotoudeh, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, Mohammad Seifzadeh, Abdolfattah Soltani and others are incarcerated in the jails of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) for their representation of clients in politically sensitive matters.  Threats to the independence of lawyers in the IRI have increased significantly in recent years, particularly with the passage of legislation designed to diminish the role of defense attorneys in the IRI’s legal system.  To provide a personalized view of these negative trends, IHRDC releases the witness testimony of Mahnaz Parakand, a renowned Iranian defense attorney who was forced to flee Iran on account of the pressures on her ability to do her job.  The full witness testimony can be read here.