The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) has presented a human rights award to four Iranian lawyers who are currently in prison.

Nasrin Sotoudeh, Abdolfattah Soltani, Mohammad Najafi and Amirsalar Davoudi were honoured by the CCBE on Friday for their work in defending human rights.

They are:

• Nasrin Sotoudehhas (small picture) sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes for defending victims of domestic violence, activists and journalists. She has also defended young people sentenced to death for committing acts while they were minors, women who had been victims of acid attacks, as well as religious minorities. Since 2016, she has been defending women who were pursued by the courts and the police for refusing to wear the hijab. The authorities arrested her again in June 2018 for defending protesters against the mandatory use of the veil,

• Abdolfattah Soltani, who has been sentenced to ten years in prison, is one of the co-founders of the Centre for Human Rights Defenders, and spent most of his career defending political prisoners. He has been in detention since 2011 and his health status is concerning as he suffers from severe heart disorders,
• Mohammad Najafi, who has been sentenced to 17 years in prison and 74 lashes,has been particularly active in the defence of Iranian political prisoners. He has been repeatedly convicted for "disturbing the State", "publishing lies", "collaborating with enemy states through conveying information in interviews", "propaganda against the regime", "insulting the Supreme Leader", and "publishing lies on the internet … with the intention of disturbing public opinion,
• Amir Salar Davoudi has been sentenced to 30 years in prison, 111 lashes and a fine. He has defended political prisoners and religious or ethnic minorities. He was arrested in November 2018 and convicted on multiple charges, including "insulting the authorities", "insulting the Supreme Leader", "propaganda against the regime", and "forming a group to undermine national security".