The rights to freedom of expression and freedom of religion and belief in Iran will be dealt yet another blow if a Bill proposing additional provisions to the Islamic Penal Code for “insulting legally-recognised religions and Iranian ethnicities” is passed by Iran’s Parliament. ARTICLE 19 urges the Iranian authorities to immediately drop the draft Bill in its entirety and avoid taking similar initiatives in the future.
ARTICLE 19 warns that the draft Bill, if passed in its current form, will further erode the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of religion and belief. Individuals belonging to religious minorities, including Baha’is, who have faced systematic persecution over the past decades are feared to be at greater risk of persecution.
“Instead of bringing the Penal Code in line with international human rights law, Iranian lawmakers have taken steps to further cement and solidify discrimination against religious minorities and restrictions on freedom of speech in the country’s legislative framework,” said Saloua Ghazouani, Director of ARTICLE19 Middle East and North Africa Programme.
“The draft Bill is effectively a green light granted to Iran’s law enforcement and prosecutorial and judicial authorities, who will be armed with additional tools to crack down on already persecuted individuals and groups solely for exercising their human rights,” Ghazouani added.
The Bill was passed by the Parliament in May 2020. It was then reviewed by the Guardian Council, a body tasked with ensuring legislative compliance with the Constitution and Sharia law, and was sent back to Parliament with a number of objections in June.
ARTICLE 19 understands that in November 2020, the Parliament implemented a number of amendments to the draft Bill in order to address the Council’s objections. The organisation has not been able to access the full text passed by the Parliament in November. However, the October 2020 amendments by Parliament’s Legal and Judicial Commission, which are believed to have been endorsed by the Parliament, fail to alleviate ARTICLE 19’s concerns with regards to the threats to human rights imposed by the Bill.
“These draconian proposals confirm yet again the Iranian authorities’ utter disregard for their international human rights obligations. They must urgently withdraw the draft Bill in its entirety and take immediate action to amend the existing legal framework in order to ensure that the rights to freedom of expression, religion and belief are fully guaranteed in line with international law and standards,” said Ms. Ghazouani.
