A new report by “Mai Sato,” a legal scholar and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, has been published for presentation to the UN Human Rights Council. In this report, Ms. Sato cites the DeFFI report and describes the ongoing suppression of freedom of expression in Iran as concerning.
The latest report by the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran condemns the significant increase in executions in 2024, criticizes widespread discrimination against women, and documents the violation of the rights of religious and ethnic minorities in Iran.
This report covers the period from January 2024 to December of the same year. In paragraph 41 on page 9 of this 21-page report, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran refers to the DeFFI report, describing the situation of the suppression of freedom of expression in Iran as alarming.
In part of paragraph 41, titled “Freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly,” it states: “The Special Rapporteur expresses serious concern over the continued widespread restrictions on the right to freedom of opinion and expression and freedom of peaceful assembly and association in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The interrogation, arrest, detention and sentencing of labour organizers, cultural rights activists, human rights defenders and journalists not only directly limit the freedom of expression of those individuals but also create a chilling effect on the exercise of freedom of expression in the country.”
The Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran refers to the report “Examination of Press Freedom Indicators in the First 100 Days of Masoud Pezeshkian’s Presidency,” which was previously published by the DeFFI.