Along with Ebadi, Soltani served as a lawyer for the family of slain Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, who was allegedly tortured and murdered in Evin Prison in July 2003.

[2] Ebadi and Soltani, along with others, also represented jailed journalist Akbar Ganji during his imprisonment and long hunger strike.

[5] Amnesty International designated him a prisoner of conscience and called him "one of the bravest human rights defenders in Iran".

[5] Along with Ebadi and Seifzadeh, Soltani served as a lawyer for the family of slain Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, who was allegedly tortured and murdered in Evin Prison in July 2003.

[7] On 16 July 2006, he was informed that the Revolutionary Court had sentenced him to five years' imprisonment and the loss of his civic rights for "non-respect of the confidentiality of the preliminary enquiry" in the Kazemi case.

When his brother-in-law died two weeks later as a result of injuries from the same crash, he again refused a one-week leave that required him to keep quiet.

[5] Amnesty International designated him a prisoner of conscience, "held solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression and association, including his work as a defence lawyer and in the Centre".