The American Center for Justice (ACJ) expresses its deep concern over the escalating campaign of systematic repression targeting lawyers and judges across the Middle East and North Africa. This statement highlights three serious cases that reveal a consistent pattern of state authorities using their authority as a tool to suppress the independent defence of human rights.
On 1 April 2026, officers from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence raided the home of prominent human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh in Tehran, arrested her for the fifth time, and confiscated her electronic devices. During her detention, she was reportedly subjected to serious human rights violations, including beatings, the shackling of her hands and feet, and detention in inhumane conditions, as documented by Front Line Defenders. She was released on bail on 13 May 2026 after being charged with “propaganda against the state” in connection with her public statements concerning the government’s repression and Iran’s nuclear programme.
Sotoudeh’s case is not an isolated incident. According to documentation by the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), at least 32 lawyers were arrested, brought before the courts, or imprisoned between January and June 2026. Documented cases include the arrest of lawyer Elham Zeraatpisheh, who was later sentenced to six years’ imprisonment, along with the confiscation of her passport; the arrest and enforced disappearance of lawyer Setareh Ansari in Fars Province in May 2026; and the sentencing of lawyer Javad Alikordi to eighteen years’ imprisonment.
These patterns amount to a systematic assault on the independence of lawyers in Iran, in violation of Articles 9 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), as well as Principle 16 of the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.
In Tunisia, on 6 April 2026, the Tunis Court of Appeal sentenced Judge Anas Hamdi, President of the Tunisian Judges Association, to one year’s imprisonment on charges of “obstructing the freedom to work” under Article 136 of the Tunisian Penal Code. The charges stemmed from his role in the 2022 judges’ strike, which was organised in defence of judicial independence in response to presidential decrees dismissing fifty-seven judges. Hamdi had previously represented the dismissed judges in legal proceedings, which appears to have been the actual motive behind his prosecution.
Three United Nations Special Rapporteurs explicitly expressed their “grave concern” over the case, stating that the conviction targets legitimate trade union activity. The case forms part of a broader pattern of repression affecting hundreds of opposition figures, lawyers, and civil society members in Tunisia. According to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, at least eight lawyers are currently serving prison sentences, including the former President of the Tunisian Bar Association.
This conviction constitutes a clear violation of Article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantees the right to freedom of association, including the right to form and join trade unions, as well as the United Nations Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary.
In Yemen, the Houthi de facto authorities continue to arbitrarily detain human rights lawyer Abdulmajeed Sabra, who has been held since 25 September 2025. On that date, Houthi militia forces raided his law office in the Shumaila district of Sana’a and abducted him without a judicial warrant. Sabra has remained in detention for more than nine months in facilities operated by the Houthi Security and Intelligence Service in the Sarf area, north of Sana’a, without being formally charged or brought before a judicial authority.
In protest against his continued unlawful detention, Sabra undertook a hunger strike. While in custody, the Houthi authorities demanded that he abandon his human rights work, cease representing detainees, and refrain from publishing political views in exchange for his release. Despite his coerced acceptance of these conditions, they failed to honour their commitment to release him. Furthermore, Sabra’s brother documented that Houthi personnel threatened family members who had publicly advocated for his release on social media with arrest.
Sabra is one of Yemen’s leading advocates for the rights of individuals detained in Houthi prisons. His continued detention constitutes a clear violation of Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which prohibits arbitrary detention, as well as the provisions of international humanitarian law protecting civilians.
A United Nations communication issued by five Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups of the UN Human Rights Council called for the direct legal accountability of the Houthi de facto authorities, in their capacity as the de facto authorities in Sana’a, for the arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance of the prominent human rights lawyer Abdulmajeed Sabra.
These three cases demonstrate that the targeting of lawyers and judges is not the result of isolated incidents but reflects a systematic policy. The authorities in Iran, Tunisia, and Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen are criminalising legitimate legal work and using it as a pretext to silence independent voices and render the guarantees of a fair trial meaningless.
The American Center for Justice (ACJ) calls for:
- The withdrawal of all charges against human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and all lawyers detained in Iran in connection with their legitimate human rights work, as well as the establishment of an independent investigation into allegations of torture and other forms of ill-treatment.
- The immediate and unconditional release of human rights lawyer Abdulmajeed Sabra and all individuals arbitrarily detained in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
- The annulment of the conviction against Judge Anas Hamdi and an end to the judicial proceedings targeting lawyers and judges in Tunisia on the basis of their legitimate trade union activities.
- The United Nations Human Rights Council and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to issue clear and public statements addressing these cases.
American Center for Justice (ACJ).
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