A/HRC/16/75 Melli, Hayat No and Sarmayeh, had been closed down after publishing articles not in line with official policies. The Iranian authorities argue that the press is free to publish articles other than those that upset Islamic principles or public or private rights. They claim that no writer or journalist has been prosecuted for what he or she has written and that the judiciary has shown leniency when dealing with press offences. 30. According to numerous reports, in September 2010, Hussein Derakhshan, a journalist, was given a long prison sentence for charges including espionage, propaganda against the regime, insulting Islamic sanctities and country leaders, and setting up and managing vulgar and obscene websites. The authorities reported that Mr. Derakhshan was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison and also prohibited from involvement in the media (print and cyberspace) and activities in political parties. The sentence could be appealed. Several other journalists received similarly heavy sentences. For instance, in September 2010, Emadeddin Baghi, a journalist and founder of the Centre for the Defence of Prisoners’ Rights, was reportedly sentenced to six years of imprisonment and five years of deprivation of civil activities. Mr. Baghi was already serving a one-year prison sentence passed against him in July 2010, on charges of “waging propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran by propagating lies to disturb the public mind”. The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression reported that he and other special procedures mandate holders41 had raised the case of Maziar Bahari, a leading Canadian-Iranian editor, playwright, film maker and journalist arrested in June 2009, reportedly held incommunicado without charge at Evin prison, where he had no access to legal representation or his family, apart from two short phone calls to his mother. 31. Restrictions have reportedly had an adverse impact on the publishing industry and writers, and resulted in a number of writers postponing publication of books. For instance, according to numerous reports, Iranian authorities have banned the books of well-known Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, who had been published in the country since 1998. 32. Recent months have been marked by a mounting crackdown on human rights activists and lawyers. Several prominent human rights defenders have been charged with national security offences and convicted to disproportionately heavy sentences and travel bans. Others, including their family members, have faced intimidation and harassment. The judiciary has criticized lawyers for violating their code of conduct and professional ethics by talking to the press. The head of the Iranian judiciary has, on several occasions, deplored lawyers’ interviews with the media and stressed that some lawyers were seeking to undermine the State with their interviews. Iranian lawyers contest that such public advocacy on behalf of their clients has become more necessary in the face of arbitrary judicial proceedings. 33. Of particular concern recently has been the case of Nasrin Sotoudeh, a prominent human rights lawyer involved in defending many high-profile cases. Her case is emblematic of the much broader crackdown on human rights defenders in the Islamic Republic of Iran and has received significant international attention. Ms. Sotoudeh was arrested on 4 September 2010 and charged with “acting against national security”, not wearing a hejab (Islamic dress) during a videotaped message, “propaganda against the regime” and for being a member of the Centre for Human Rights Defenders. The case against her is widely believed to be linked to her work as a human rights defender. On 8 January 2011, she was sentenced to 11 years of imprisonment and a 20-year prohibition from practicing law and leaving the country. Ms. Sotoudeh has mostly been held in solitary confinement in Evin prison since her arrest. During her detention, she went on a hunger strike for several weeks to protest against her prolonged detention without trial and the 41 The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 11