Freedom of thought and expression

Last updated:

May 22, 2026

Freedom of thought and expression

From the Crime of “Espionage” to the Criminalization of “Intent to Collaborate”/ Maryam Abedi

Crimes against national security have always been regarded among the most sensitive and severe areas of criminal law. In all legal systems, governments consider the protection of secrets, classified information, vital facilities, and security structures to be among the fundamental elements of their political and sovereign survival. For this reason, espionage is recognized as one […]...

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Created By: Maryam Abedi
May 22, 2026

Media Cooperation with Abroad: Where Is the Boundary Between Reporting and Espionage?/ Mustafa Danandeh

During the two twelve-day and forty-day wars, the relationship between “media activity” and “national security” in Iran entered a new stage. A stage in which sending a video, publishing a report, or even speaking with media outlets outside the country can be interpreted under concepts such as “cooperation with a hostile state” or “espionage.” The […]...

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Created By: Mustafa Danandeh
May 22, 2026

The Expansion of Securitizing Activism in the New Law Intensifying Punishment for Espionage/ Sara Qoreyshi

An Ordinary Day, an Extraordinary Accusation It is ten o’clock at night. From the window of your apartment, you hear chants. You pick up your phone, record a few seconds of video, and send it to a news channel outside the country. The next day, you face a summons whose title is not “publishing an […]...

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Created By: Sara Qoreyshi
May 22, 2026

A Comparative Review of the Conflicts Between the New Law Intensifying Punishment for Espionage and the Fundamental Rights of the People/ Iman Soleimani

The law titled “Intensifying Punishment for Espionage and Cooperation with the Zionist Regime and Hostile Countries Against National Security and Interests” (approved by Parliament in Mehr 1404 and confirmed by the Guardian Council) is among the Islamic Republic’s recent security laws, prescribing heavy punishments such as execution and full confiscation of property for a wide […]...

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Created By: Iman Soleimani
May 22, 2026

Securitizing Society Through Accusations of Espionage/ Hermineh Hourdad

Since its establishment, the Islamic Republic, as a phenomenon in the form and appearance of the government ruling Iran, has made one of its main actions emptying everything of its original meaning, placing its own desired meaning inside that form, and imposing it on society. The accusation of espionage is no exception to this rule; […]...

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Created By: Hermineh Hourdad
May 22, 2026

National Security Through Execution and Repression?/ Majid Shia’ali

Since the beginning of the war, human rights violations by the ruling establishment in Iran have increased significantly. In the days after the ceasefire, not a day goes by without news of executions carried out on the basis of death sentences issued through a deeply flawed judicial process and with clear political orientations. The process […]...

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Created By: Majid Shia’ali
May 22, 2026

From the Filtering of Telegram to “Pro Internet” / Amir Aghaei

The Islamic Republic is breaking many negative records in the field of digital repression. Iranians, during perhaps one of the most turbulent periods in their history — from the start of the 12-day war to the Dey protests and after that the 40-day war, which it is still not clear has completely ended or not […]...

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Created By: Amir Aghayi
May 22, 2026

Checkpoint Stops; From the Past to Today/ Mohammad Javad Tavaf

One media activist has recounted a memory from the years of the sixties on social networks: “It was night, my cousin and I wanted to go from Khaniabad to Yousefabad, to our aunt’s house. I said: Hooshang, it’s a desert there, let’s take a little of this aragh too. He double-layered a freezer bag, poured […]...

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Created By: Mohammad Javad Tavaf
April 21, 2026

Can Mere Filming of Strike Sites Lead to Arrest?/ Sina Yousefi

In wartime conditions, the question of respect for human rights is always raised as one of the fundamental challenges. It is a challenge in which the boundary between security necessities and human rights obligations becomes extremely narrow and slippery. Historical experience has shown that in times of crisis, states are more inclined than ever to […]...

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Created By: Sina Yousefi
April 21, 2026

Digital Governance in a State of War: From Internet Shutdowns to the Engineering of Collective Perception/ Mina Javani

Sometimes, in the midst of war, what disappears is not only sounds and images, but access to reality itself. The internet, this seemingly obvious and always-available platform, suddenly goes dark in such moments and plunges society into a state of informational rupture; a condition in which the boundary between what is happening and what is […]...

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Created By: Mina Javani
April 21, 2026

Confiscation of Property: A “Legal” Tool for Silencing Dissent?/ Iman Soleimani

In recent years, particularly following the adoption and implementation of the law titled “Intensification of Punishment for Espionage and Cooperation with the Zionist Regime and Hostile Countries Against National Security and Interests” in October 2025 (Mehr 1404), the issue of confiscation and seizure of the assets of Iranian citizens—especially those living abroad, ranging from ordinary […]...

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Created By: Iman Soleimani
April 21, 2026

When the Internet Becomes a Weapon of War/ Abdollah Bai Lashaki

In the contemporary world, the internet is no longer merely a communication tool; it has become one of the fundamental pillars of social, economic, and political organization. Critical infrastructures—from banking and healthcare systems to media, education, and even emergency response mechanisms—depend, to varying degrees, on stable access to the internet. However, in situations of armed […]...

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Created By: Abdullah Bai Lashaki
April 21, 2026