prosecute individuals who peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of expression, association
and assembly, including journalists and media workers. 4 5 6 7 8 9 The State’s repression of these
rights extends online. In 2018, Iran’s Cyber Police announced that, since its foundation in 2010,
it had arrested 74,917 individuals due to their online activities.10 This number includes bloggers
and social media personalities. Iranian authorities regularly block or restrict access to websites
and social media platforms.11 The Government blocked the messaging application Telegram in
201812 and arrested a number of its administrators on charges of encouraging protests,
“disturbing public opinion” and/or “promoting homosexuality”.13 During the 2019 November
protests, the Government ordered a country-wide internet shutdown, impairing the possibility to
document acts of violence in real time.14
Article 168 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran stipulates that crimes related to the
press and media should be tried in a specific court, the press court. However, in recent years a
large number of journalists have been arrested and tried in public and revolutionary courts for
their professional work on the basis of, notably, national security charges .15 Additionally,
Article 4 of the Press law states that "No government or non-governmental authority has the right
to impose pressure on the press or to censor and control the press in order to publish an article"
and Article 5 sanctions such acts with up to two years of dismissal from office or a permanent
dismissal from public service in case of recidivism. Despite these safeguards, there are no readily
available reports of trials against government or non-governmental officials under these articles,
as of February 2021, in spite of numerous reports indicating regular pressure and censorship
from security and judicial authorities in Iran.16
See more : ARTICLE 19, Small Media, Human Rights Activists in Iran, Impact Iran, Human Rights Committee, 129th session
(Geneva) 29 June – 24 July 2020,
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CCPR_ICS_IRN_42315_E.pdf
5
See more: Iran Human Rights, https://www.iranhr.net/en/reports/23/
6
See more: Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/controlled-and-pursued-labor-activism-incontemporary-iran/
7
See more: Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort, https://www.ecpm.org/wp-content/uploads/Rapport-iran-2020-gb-070420WEB.pdf
8
“Aliresza Farshi has been released from Evin,” HRNA News Agency. 11 April 2020. https://www.hranews.org/2020/hranews/a-24375/
9
“Iran arrests 29 linked to protests against compulsory hijab laws”, New York Times, 2 February 2018.
https://tinyurl.com/ybmdozuy
10
Small Media, Digital Rights in Iran, UPR Submission, Session 34 :
<https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=6980&file=EnglishTranslation >
11
Small Media, Digital Rights in Iran, UPR Submission, Session 34 :
<https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=6980&file=EnglishTranslation >
12
Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/05/02/iran-assault-access-information
13
Small Media, Digital Rights in Iran, UPR Submission, Session 34 :
<https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=6980&file=EnglishTranslation >
14
See more : Article 19, https://www.article19.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/TTN-report-2020.pdf
4
15
16
Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/05/03/iran-flawed-convictions-journalists
See more: Article 19, Small Media, Human Rights Activists in Iran, Impact Iran,
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CCPR_ICS_IRN_42315_E.pdf
2