provisions criminalise acts such as swearing at18 or insulting19 “the Great Prophet of Islam” as
well as “sowing corruption on earth”20 with the death penalty.
All the aforementioned restrictions fail to meet requirements of international standards, including
the principles of legality and requirements that limitations of rights must be necessary,
proportionate and in pursuit of one of a limited number of narrowly-drawn legitimate aims.21
Consequently, the current Iranian legal framework grants authorities’ significant discretion to
impose overbroad and vague restrictions on individuals’ rights in contravention of the Iran’s
international human rights obligations. As freedom of expression, assembly and association are
central to the work of HRDs, they are particularly exposed to State restriction and repression.
Such risk of restriction and repression has been confirmed in practice. Iranian authorities
frequently rely on the legal framework to intimidate, arrest and prosecute individuals who
peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly,22 23
reportedly disproportionately targeting members of minorities.24 25 Further, the Government of
Iran has responded to protests with excessive and unlawful force.26
Human rights lawyers have been increasingly targeted and repressed through arrests, detention,
and imprisonment solely for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and
assembly during the course of their professional duty to defend their clients.27 Other human
rights defenders, including trade unionists, environmental or abolitionist activists have also faced
increasing levels of harassment and persecution due to their peaceful activities. 28 29 30 31 In his
July 2020 report, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic
18
Article 262 Islamic Penal Code 2013, https://iranhrdc.org/english-translation-of-books-i-ii-of-the-new-islamic-penal-code/
Article 513 Islamic Penal Code 2013, https://iranhrdc.org/islamic-penal-code-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-book-five/
20
Article 286 Islamic Penal Code 2013.
21
Article 19, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
22
See more : Amnesty International, Caught in a web of repression: Iran’s Human Rights Defenders under attack,
https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1364462017ENGLISH.PDF
23
While no official figure exists on the number of journalists detained with charges since 2011, documentation on specific cases
of journalists imprisoned by HRANA News Agency, Committee to Protect Journalists, Amnesty International, Centre for Human
Rights on Iran, and Reporters Without Borders and ARTICLE19 suggest the number is over a hundred.
24
See more: Association for the human rights of the Azerbaijani people in Iran, http://www.ahraz.org/association-for-the-humanrights-of-the-azerbaijani-people-in-iran-ahrazs-repot-regarding-the-current-situation-of-the-azerbaijani-arrestees-that-arearrested-during-the-recent-protests-nove/
25
See more: Kurdistan Human Rights Geneva, https://kmmk-ge.org/sd/annual-report-2020/
26
The Governmental crackdown on the November 2019 protests is emblematic of Iran’s repression of the rights to freedom of
expression, assembly and association. See more: Amnesty International, Trampling Humanity: Mass arrests, disappearances and
torture since Iran’s 2019 November protests, https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde13/2891/2020/en/
27
See more: Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, https://www.iranrights.org/projects/timeline
28
See more : ARTICLE 19, Small Media, Human Rights Activists in Iran, Impact Iran, Human Rights Committee, 129th session
19
(Geneva) 29 June – 24 July 2020,
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CCPR_ICS_IRN_42315_E.pdf
29
See more: Iran Human Rights, https://www.iranhr.net/en/reports/23/
30
See more: Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/controlled-and-pursued-labor-activism-incontemporary-iran/
31
See more: Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort, https://www.ecpm.org/wp-content/uploads/Rapport-iran-2020-gb-070420WEB.pdf
3