Zarafshan also faced apparently fabricated charges of "having weapons and alcohol at his law firm" after his office was searched while he was in detention and without the presence of his lawyer.

"This conviction reflects the continued determination of key conservative rulers in Iran to silence those who use the judicial system to seek justice and end impunity," said Joe Stork, Washington Director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch. "The Iranian people are left wondering where they can seek justice."

The initial charges against Zarafshan accused him of publicizing information about the November 1998 assassinations of four political activists and writers by officials in the Ministry of Information. Zarafshan, who is representing the families of Darioush Forouhar, Forouhar's wife Parvaneh, and Mohammad Puyandeh, criticized shortcomings in the official investigation and the absence of vital information from the court files. Zarafshan never discussed publicly the contents of the files.

The Judicial Organization of Armed Forces brought the original complaint against Zarafshan and arrested him in October 2000. He was released after a month pending trial. In February 2002, he was tried behind closed doors with his lawyer present. The presiding judge was also a prosecutor with the Judicial Organization of Armed Forces.

Zarafshan is not the first Iranian to be punished severely for attempting to address the impunity of officials responsible for ordering assassinations of dissident activists and intellectuals. Akbar Ganji and Emadedine Baghi, two journalists who helped expose the perpetrators of assassinations of Iranian intellectuals and political activists after the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979, were tried on charges of acting against the national security of the country and sentenced to long prison terms in 2000. Shirin Ebadi, another lawyer who represented families of victims of the 1998 assassinations, was convicted of similar charges and sentenced to prison in 2001.

The judicial authorities have not explained why Zarafshan was brought before the Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces, which is headed by Hojatoleslam Mohammad Niazi. The purpose of this branch is to try members of the armed forces and Revolutionary Guards for violations of the military code. It is not accountable to any other judicial authorities and is controlled directly by the Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"The decision to bring these charges and to try a civilian before a military court is another blow against anything that could be called rule of law in Iran," Stork added. "Hojatoleslam Mohammad Niazi should dismiss the case and drop all charges against Nasser Zarafshan."