Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Human rights defenders in Iran are subjected to death threats, acts of harassment, arbitrary arrest, judicial harassment, stigmatization, violent attacks, ill-treatment, torture and killings. Women human rights defenders are particularly at risk in Iran. Freedoms of expression, association and assembly are severely restricted in Iran as they are usually associated with breaches of the security of the state or are reported to conflict with the teachings of Islam. E-security is a problem for human rights defenders in Iran as the authorities regularly close down human rights related websites.

According to the report on the situation of human rights defenders of the UN SRSG, “defenders in Iran reportedly come from many backgrounds and include journalists, critical Islamic scholars, writers, “cultural personalities”, cultural institutions and lawyers”. Particular issues of concern for defenders in Iran include the rights of women, rights of children, rights of prisoners, rights of minorities, environmental issues, freedom of expression, e-security, advocacy of human rights and campaigning against legislative restrictions which impede human rights. Women campaigning for equal rights are targeted by the authorities and subjected to arbitrary detention, judicial harassment and acts of torture. Defenders of LGBTI rights are also a very vulnerable group as homosexuality is a crime punishable by death in Iran. Most defenders who are imprisoned in relation to their legitimate human rights activities are held at Evin prison which is notorious for acts of ill-treatment and torture. Human rights organizations in Iran face many difficulties due to the registration procedure as it is particularly restrictive for independent non-governmental organisations and they have very limited funding.