Abdorrahman Boroumand Center

for Human Rights in Iran

https://www.iranrights.org
Promoting tolerance and justice through knowledge and understanding
Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch Condemns Arrest Of Iranian Legal Scholar

Human Rights Watch
June 29, 1998
Press Release

Human Rights Watch today condemned the arrest of Hojatoleslam Mohssen Saeid-Zadeh, an independent legal scholar in Iran.

He was arrested today at noon at his house in Tehran. It is not known whether he has been charged with an offense.

Hojatoleslam Saeid-Zadeh's public calls to reinterpret Islamic law in the realms of personal status and the rights of women have provoked opposition from conservative clerics. In November 1997, Hojatoleslam Saeid-Zadeh was one of the speakers at a major international conference organized jointly by the United Nations Children Fund and the Tehran-based National Association to Protect Children's Rights.

Hojatoleslam Saeid-Zadeh is a member of the Islamic clergy. "Hojatoleslam" is a religious honorific.

Human Rights Watch fears that Hojatoleslam Saeid-Zadeh may have been detained because of his peaceful expression of views challenging the prevailing interpretations of Islamic law in Iran, in violation of international standards.