Human rights defender Mr Kouhyar Goudarzi was arrested in Tehran on 31 July 2011, and his mother Ms Parvin Mokhtareh was arrested the following day in the city of Kerman. To date, Kouhyar Goudarzi's fate and whereabouts remain unknown, while Parvin Mokhtareh is reportedly being detained at Kerman General Prison. Kouhyar Goudarzi is a journalist and member of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters (CHRR). In 2010, Kouhyar Goudarzi was awarded the John Auchobon award for Press Freedom presented by the Washington National Press Club. Kouhyar Goudarzi's mother received the award on his behalf because he was in prison at the time.

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On 31 July 2011, Kouhyar Goudarzi was reportedly arrested by agents of Iranian Ministry of Intelligence at his home on Jamalzadeh street, Tehran. To date, no State security bodies has admitted responsibility for his arrest. It is not clear why he was arrested, or whether charges have been brought against him. It is reported that following his arrest, the authorities conducted a search of Kouhyar Goudarzi's home and confiscated some books and other personal belongings.

Iranian human rights defender Ms Mansoureh Behkish was arrested on 12 June 2011 and is being detained in Evin Prison in Tehran. Mansoureh Behkish is a member of Mothers for Peace, a group of Iranian women that campaigns for peace and stability in the region and the Mourning Mothers a group of women whose children have been killed, disappeared or detained by the Iranian authorities, and their supporters. She is also a signatory of a letter sent to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki -Moon dated 30 October 2009 which highlighted the violations of the rights of political prisoners in Iran and called on the United Nations to reestablish the office of the Special Representative for Iran and to save the lives of prisoners sentenced to death in Iran.

Two women's rights defenders, Ms Maryam Bahreman and Ms Mahboubeh Karami, were arrested respectively on 11 May and 15 May 2011, and both continue to be detained. Maryam Bahreman is a member of the One Million Signatures Campaign, also known as the Campaign for Equality, and founding member and General Secretary of Anjome Zana Pars (Pars Women's Association), a women's rights organisation which was established in 2003. Mahboubeh Karami is also a prominent women's rights activist and signatory of the One Million Signatures Campaign. Maryam Bahreman is being held incommunicado and her whereabouts remain unknown.

Human rights lawyer Mr Khalil Bahramian has been sentenced to 18 months in prison and banned from practicing law for 10 years. Khalil Bahramian has been an active lawyer for 46 years during which time he has defended numerous political prisoners and human rights defenders. He is an active opponent of the death penalty and a member of the International Committee Against Executions.

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It is reported that Branch 28 of Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Khalil Bahramian on charges of “propaganda against the regime” and “insulting the head of the judiciary,” in retaliation for his work representing persecuted political activists in Iran. Khalil Bahramian has lodged an appeal against his sentence.

Front Line believes the sentencing of Khalil Bahramian is directly related to his legitimate and peaceful work in defence of human rights. If confirmed, Khalil Bahramian's sentencing would reflect an environment of increasing judicial harassment against human rights lawyers and other human rights defenders in Iran.

Human rights defender Ms Nasrin Sotoudeh has been sentenced to 11 years in prison, and banned from practicing as a lawyer and leaving the country for 20 years after an allegedly unfair trial.

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Nasrin Sotoudeh is a prominent human rights lawyer, who in particular has worked with juvenile prisoners facing the death penalty as well as prisoners of conscience; her past clients have included Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi as well as a number of political prisoners who were taken into custody during the unrest that followed the disputed Iranian presidential election in June 2009.

She is also a member of the Defenders of Human Rights Centre and the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child. Nasrin Sotoudeh has been the subject of a previous Front Line Urgent Appeal dated 8 September 2010.

On 9 January 2011, Nasrin Sotoudeh's lawyers were informed that she had been sentenced by the 26th Branch of the Revolutionary Court to 11 years in prison and banned from both working as a lawyer and leaving Iran for 20 years.

Nasrin Sotoudeh is a human rights lawyer in Iran who has been given a prison sentence of eleven years and banned from working as a lawyer or leaving the country for twenty years. This sentence has been given to her, not for any criminal activity but as a result of her peaceful human rights work. She was accused of 'spreading propaganda' and 'conspiring to harm state security'. Nasrin has represented many defenders opposed to the current regime in Iran. She has also worked extensively with young prisoners who have been sentenced to death for crimes they committed when they were under 18.

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On 4 September, Nasrin Sotoudeh, was summoned to appear in court at Evin prison on charges of “propaganda against the state” and “collusion and gathering with the aim of acting against national security”. She has been detained since. In protest at her detention Nasrin has undertaken several hunger strikes. Nasrin has recently come off her latest hunger strike which lasted 45 days.

Prior to her arrest, Nasrin had reported harassment on the part of the authorities. On 28 August 2010 her home and office were searched, and her assets were frozen.