Iran bill could mean 30-year jail terms, UN team says

UN-appointed investigators urged Iran on Thursday to withdraw a draft bill that they said could expose journalists, academics, activists and others to up to 30 years in prison for contact with foreign entities.

The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran said it was “appalled” by the bill before Iran’s parliament and called it “a dangerous escalation in suppressing fundamental freedoms and isolating Iranians from the international community”.

The draft has not been finalised. It would prohibit “any activity or communication” by Iranian or foreign individuals or organisations that undermines independence, national unity, Islamic standards or national sovereignty.

The fact-finding mission said the broad wording could make alleged interaction with designated foreign states, media outlets, academic institutions, human rights defenders and civil society groups prosecutable as major security offences.

The investigators said Iranians could be required to declare and register all activities with foreign agents or foreign nationals, and could face prosecution if they failed to obtain prior approval for activities such as publishing books or articles, running newspapers, sharing data or engaging in academic cooperation. They said economic, commercial and financial activities, including money transfers and providing goods and services, would also be subject to approval.

Sara Hossain, who heads the mission, said Iran was moving to subject everyday Iranians to “blanket criminalisation for any contact with the outside world”.

Abbas Golro, head of the Iranian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, told Mehr news agency that the bill aims to “protect Iranian citizens against any foreign influence”. He said there was no cause for concern and that criticism reflected an insufficient understanding of the draft.

The three-person fact-finding mission was set up by the UN Human Rights Council in November 2022 after Iran’s crackdown on protests sparked by the death in custody of Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini. The mission is independent and does not speak on behalf of the United Nations.