NGOs have reported a pattern of targeting members of minority of marginalized groups attempting to exercise their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly.32 33 34 35 36 37 In the same way, the Iranian legal framework enables Iranian authorities to restrict severely 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.38 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.39 The Government blocked the messaging application Telegram in 2018, an important mean of communication of information in Iran,40 and a number of its administrators have been arrested and charged with encouraging protests, “disturbing public opinion” and/or “promoting homosexuality”.41 During the 2019 November protests, the Government ordered a country-wide internet shutdown, impairing the possibility to document acts of violence in real time.42 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 against any of three the branches of power) and the Oversight Bodies for the exercise of Citizenship Rights in the country's provincial courts, there is no evidence to suggest that complaints to these bodies are independently reviewed and investigated.43 Additionally, as the aforementioned restrictions on 32 See more: Association for the human rights of the Azerbaijani people in Iran, http://www.ahraz.org/association-for-thehuman-rights-of-the-azerbaijani-people-in-iran-ahrazs-repot-regarding-the-current-situation-of-the-azerbaijani-arrestees-that-arearrested-during-the-recent-protests-nove/ 33 See more: Kurdistan Human Rights Geneva, https://kmmk-ge.org/sd/annual-report-2020/ 34 See more: United For Iran, https://ipa.united4iran.org/en/prisoner/ 35 Center for Human Rights in Iran, https://iranhumanrights.org/2020/10/more-bahais-begin-serving-prison-sentences-in-iransimply-for-their-beliefs/ 36 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 37 “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 38 Small Media, Digital Rights in Iran, UPR Submission, Session 34 : <https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=6980&file=EnglishTranslation > 39 Small Media, Digital Rights in Iran, UPR Submission, Session 34 : <https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=6980&file=EnglishTranslation > 40 Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/05/02/iran-assault-access-information 41 Small Media, Digital Rights in Iran, UPR Submission, Session 34 : <https://uprdoc.ohchr.org/uprweb/downloadfile.aspx?filename=6980&file=EnglishTranslation > 42 See more: Article 19, https://www.article19.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/TTN-report-2020.pdf 43 Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee, Abdorrahman Center, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC), Impact Iran and Human Rights Activists in Iran, 2020, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=INT%2fCCPR%2fICS%2fIRN%2f42313 &Lang=en 4