In July 2024, PEN America partnered with Article 19, All Human Rights for All in Iran, and Impact Iran on a joint submission for the fourth cycle of the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, under which all UN Member States undergo examinations of their human rights record. The joint submission focused on the rights of freedom of opinion, expression, and peaceful assembly.

In a joint statement prepared for the UPR pre-session, we noted that Iran remains one of the most restrictive countries in the world regarding freedom of expression and one of the biggest jailers of journalists and writers globally. According to PEN America’s annual Freedom to Write Index, which tracks the incarceration of writers for their expression, over the past five years, Iran has consistently ranked among the top four countries jailing writers. 

The number of writers behind bars in Iran increased dramatically in 2022, as part of the crackdown on the aftermath of the Woman, Life, Freedom protests, and at least 49 writers were held behind bars in 2023. Writers included in the submission are Baktash Abtin, a poet, filmmaker, and member of the Iranian Writers Association who died in custody in January 2022, and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Narges Mohammadi, who has been jailed for most of the past decade for her expression and activism. (She is currently out of prison on a brief suspension of her sentence following surgery). Both were charged with “propaganda against the State” (Article 500), among other trumped-up charges. 

Despite this, in the last UPR review cycle, Iran’s government did not support any recommendations for aligning its legislation on freedom of expression with international law. Human rights defenders, journalists, media workers, writers, artists, justice seeking families of victims, and others voicing dissent continue to be arrested and detained, denied medical care in prison, and prosecuted and sentenced to long prison terms, flogging, and even the death penalty.

As Iran undergoes its fourth UPR review on January 24, 2025, we urge the UN Human Rights Council and its Member States to hold the Iranian government accountable for its free expression violations. Our joint recommendations specifically include: 

  • the immediate and unconditional release of all persons detained for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association, including online; 
  • the repeal of laws which, in contravention of international law, restrict and/or criminalize the right to freedom of expression; 

Additionally, PEN America urges Iranian authorities to uphold a recommendation from the previous UPR cycle that they accepted, regarding the provision to prisoners of conscience of adequate health care and treatment, including preventive measures, such as screening for medical conditions, free of charge and without discrimination, as well as sufficient recovery time outside of prison following surgeries or other serious medical interventions. 

Read the full submission.