A/HRC/43/61 2. Environmentalists 29. The Special Rapporteur is alarmed at the sentencing of eight environmentalists who were arrested in January and February 2018 to lengthy prison terms, specifically to between 4 and 10 years’ imprisonment, after being convicted of “collaborating with the United States enemy state”. 52 According to the Government, while Morad Tahbaz and Niloufar Bayani were acquitted of the charge of “gaining illegitimate income”, they were still requested to return that income, in the respective amounts of US$ 600,000 and US$ 356,600. It is reported, however, that one of the environmentalists, who was a former consultant for the United Nations Environment Programme,53 has been ordered to pay the Government the amount earned while in that position.54 30. The verdict came after an announcement in September 2019 that the most serious charge levied against four of the eight – “corruption on earth”, which carries the death penalty – had been dropped55 and converted to “collaboration with enemy state”. According to information received, after more than a year of inactivity, the hearings in all cases resumed in October and were concluded on 22 October 2019. During their detention, the environmentalists have had limited access to their lawyers and have been required to choose lawyers from a list pre-approved by the judiciary. The detainees’ and their lawyers’ ability to intervene during the hearings or to review the indictments or other documents has also been limited. The Special Rapporteur reiterates the concerns expressed by the Secretary-General about the conditions of detention, including reports of ill-treatment, efforts to extract forced confessions and denial of access to medical care, particularly in the case of Morad Tahbaz, who faced serious health complications. 56 The Government rejects all allegations on the detention conditions and lack of access to medical care, stating that Mr. Tahbaz has been provided medical treatment 15 times in specialized medical centres outside the prison. 31. The Special Rapporteur is alarmed that such charges have been brought against individuals engaged in environmental work that is beneficial both to the Islamic Republic of Iran and to the international community, and calls upon the Government to ensure that the rights of individuals conducting peaceful and essential scientific work are respected and protected. 3. Human rights defenders and lawyers 32. The Special Rapporteur continues to be concerned about the arrest and detention of human rights defenders and lawyers for their peaceful work. In 2019, human rights lawyers such as Nasrin Sotoudeh and Amirsalar Davoudi were convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms. 57 The Special Rapporteur calls upon the Government to ensure that those seeking to uphold the rights of others are not arbitrarily detained and prosecuted for their peaceful work. 33. The critical condition of human rights defender Arash Sadeghi, who has been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer and been repeatedly denied needed medical care, is particularly alarming.58 Mr. Sadeghi was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment in August 2015 on national security-related and other charges connected to his work as a human rights defender, which included social media posts and communications with journalists and 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 www.hrw.org/news/2019/11/22/iran-environmentalists-sentenced; https://iranhumanrights.org/2019/11/six-conservationists-sentenced-to-long-prison-terms-in-iranenvironmentalist/. www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/statement/un-environment-programme-statementsentencing-environmentalists-iran. https://iranhumanrights.org/2019/11/six-conservationists-sentenced-to-long-prison-terms-in-iranenvironmentalist/. https://plus.irna.ir/news/83515698; https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-drops-death-row-charge-forenvironmentalists/30214608.html. A/74/273, para. 15. A/74/188, paras. 15–16. https://iranhumanrights.org/2019/10/civil-rights-activist-arash-sadeghi-repeatedly-denied-medicaltreatment-for-paralyzed-arm/. See also para. 67 below. 9