In addition, the 2010 Computer Crimes Law remains the most recent piece of legislation, extending restrictions on freedom of expression to the online sphere, including through vague and broad crimes such as “dissemination of lies” and the criminalization of what is deemed to offend “public morality and chastity”.24 The authorities frequently resort to the Iranian legal framework in order to intimidate, arrest and prosecute individuals who peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly, including journalists and media workers, trade unionists, and lawyers.25 26 27 28 NGOs have reported a pattern of these violations disproportionately targeting members of minority or marginalized groups attempting to exercise their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly.29 30 31 32 33 34 The Iranian legal framework also enables Iranian authorities to severely restrict freedom of expression and the right to information online. In 2018, Iran’s Cyber Police announced that since its foundation in 2010, it had arrested 74,917 people because of their online activities.35 This number includes many individuals, such as bloggers and other social media personalities. Iranian authorities regularly block or restrict access to websites and social media platforms, in particular those sharing information on the situation of marginalized communities or political prisoners .36 Social networking platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Google, and blog- 24 See more: Article19, https://www.article19.org/data/files/medialibrary/37385/Computer-Crimes-in-Iran-.pdf 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 26 See more: Iran Human Rights, https://www.iranhr.net/en/reports/23/ 27 See more: Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/controlled-and-pursued-labor-activism-incontemporary-iran/ 28 See more: Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort, https://www.ecpm.org/wp-content/uploads/Rapport-iran-2020-gb-070420WEB.pdf 29 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/ 30 See more: Kurdistan Human Rights Geneva, https://kmmk-ge.org/sd/annual-report-2020/ 31 See more: United For Iran, https://ipa.united4iran.org/en/prisoner/ 32 Center for Human Rights in Iran, https://iranhumanrights.org/2020/10/more-bahais-begin-serving-prison-sentences-in-iransimply-for-their-beliefs/ 33 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 34 “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 35 Small Media, Digital Rights in Iran, UPR Submission, Session 34 : <https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=6980&file=EnglishTranslation > 36 Small Media, Digital Rights in Iran, UPR Submission, Session 34 : <https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=6980&file=EnglishTranslation > 25 3