reportedly targeting disproportionately members of minorities. 20 21 22 23 24 25 Further, the
Government of Iran has been responding to protests with excessive and unlawful force.26
Human rights lawyers have increasingly been targeted for repression, facing arrest, detention,
and imprisonment solely for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and
assembly and for carrying out their professional work 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
of Iran raised serious concerns over recurrent arrests and detentions of HRDs solely for carrying
out their legitimate work. 32 33 34 The Special Rapporteur also stated that he was “alarmed at the
ongoing repression of women human rights defenders who object to compulsory veiling” and
condemned “the recent sentencing of three women human rights defenders: Yasaman Aryani,
Monireh Arabshahi and Mojgan Keshavarz.”35
Despite the existence of several mechanisms that ostensibly accept complaints regarding
violations of citizens' rights, such as the Article 90 Commission of the parliament (established
based on Article 90 of the Constitution, offering a mechanism to citizens to file complaint
20
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/
21
See more: Kurdistan Human Rights Geneva, https://kmmk-ge.org/sd/annual-report-2020/
22
See more: United For Iran, https://ipa.united4iran.org/en/prisoner/
23
Center for Human Rights in Iran, https://iranhumanrights.org/2020/10/more-bahais-begin-serving-prison-sentences-in-iransimply-for-their-beliefs/
24
See more: Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee from All Human Rights for All in Iran, Association for Human
Rights in Kurdistan – Geneva, Association for the Human Rights of the Azerbaijani People in Iran, Iran Human Rights
Documentation Center, OutRight International, Siamak Pourzand Foundation, Small Media, Impact Iran, 2020,
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CCPR_NGO_IRN_42317_E.pdf
25
“Iran arrests 29 linked to protests against compulsory hijab laws”, New York Times, 2 February 2018.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/02/world/middleeast/iran-hijab-protests-arrests.html
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
(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
32
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, January 2020,
https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/IR/Report_of_the_Special_Rapporteur_on_the_situation_of_human_rights_in_the_
Islamic_Republic_of_IranA4361.pdf
33
See more: United for Iran, database of Iran’s prisons and political prisoners available at https://ipa.united4iran.org/en/
34
See more: EN-Human Rights Activists News Agency, https://www.en-hrana.org/?s=activists
35
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, January 2020,
https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/IR/Report_of_the_Special_Rapporteur_on_the_situation_of_human_rights_in_the_
Islamic_Republic_of_IranA4361.pdf
3