B. The Special Rapporteur urges the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to protect the freedoms of women and girls, as well as religious and ethnic minorities, to freely associate and express themselves Although the Iranian Constitution recognizes the right to freedom of thought, expression association and assembly and prohibits censorship of the press, these rights are restricted under Iranian legislation. While Article 27 of the Constitution ostensibly protects the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, the guarantee falls short of international standards set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) by requiring that participants are not “in violation of the fundamental principles of Islam”. There is no clear definition or criteria that define what can be considered “fundamental principles of Islam”. Under Article 2 of the Law on Political Crimes, adopted in 2016, participation in an unauthorized assembly, even if it is peaceful, can effectively be considered a political offence.20 Unauthorized assemblies had previously been prohibited under the 1981 Law on the Activities of Parties, Populations and Political and Trade Unions and Islamic Associations or Recognized Religious Minorities.21 Those participating in peaceful unauthorized assemblies are often charged and sentenced to prison terms under Article 610 of the Islamic Penal Code.22 The right to freedom of expression, recognized under Article 24 of the Constitution, is similarly undermined by vague qualifications, such as being “deemed harmful to the principles of Islam or the rights of the public”. Article 40 further allows for restrictions of rights, including peaceful assembly, if the exercise is deemed “injurious to others” or “detrimental to public interests”. Similar provisions restrict the right to freedom of expression online through the criminalization of vaguely worded offences such as the “dissemination of lies” and what is deemed to offend “public morality and chastity”.23 Similarly, the right to information is over broadly restricted in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The 1986 Press Law, amended in 2000, provides content-based restrictions on traditional and online media. Reports may only be published in pursuit of one of the five “legitimate objectives” including “to campaign against manifestations of imperialistic culture” or “to propagate and promote genuine Islamic culture and sound ethical principles.” The law prohibits publishing 20 The 2016 Law on Political Crimes, available at: https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/968421 The 1981 Law on the Activities of Parties, Populations and Political and Trade Unions and Islamic Associations or Recognised Religious Minorities, available at: https://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/90226 22 The new Islamic Penal Code was introduced in 2013 for an experimental period of five years and was revised in 2016. See the most updated version of the Islamic Penal Code here on the website of the Iranian parliament: http://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/print_version/845048 23 “Islamic Republic of Iran: Computer Crimes Law,” ARTICLE19, 2012. https://bit.ly/1RecP6R 21 4