The horrific scenes and accounts of the brutal crackdown on Iranian protesters, journalists and activists since mid-September have shocked the world. Authorities have also ruthlessly targeted Iran’s brave and innovative digital rights activists, technologists, internet experts and network administrators – persecuting, harassing, and arresting them. 

Iran’s overarching digital repression during the ongoing nationwide protests has been severe, and during this time, the country’s internet community has spoken up for protesters and emphasised how vital it is to ensure people have access to the internet — to keep informed and to keep safe. Prior to the protests following the death of Mahsa (Jhina) Amini while in custody, many of these activists had opposed a controversial bill that threatened to block Iranians’ access to the internet. The most draconian components of this bill have characterised the restrictions imposed in recent weeks. 

ARTICLE 19, Access Now, and other human rights organisations have called on the government to immediately release detained technologists and all those arbitrarily arrested for exercising their human rights, and put an end to this violent protest repression — both online and offline. Iranian authorities must be independently and criminally investigated for committing – with full impunity – serious crimes under international law and other grave violations of human rights. 

In the wake of damaging legal cases brought against journalists across Europe, the United Kingdom has announced plans to introduce much-needed legal reforms that, if adopted, will help protect public interest reporting in the UK and serve as a model across Europe. 

ARTICLE 19 and other members of the UK anti-SLAPP Coalition welcome the Ministry of Justice’s commitment to tackle SLAPPs – strategic lawsuits against public participation.The coalition is pushing for SLAPPs to move through courts as quickly as possible and meet a higher threshold in order to advance to trial, for costs to be kept to an absolute minimum for defendants, and to be sufficiently high for those filing claims as a deterrent. Given that SLAPPs have had a devastating impact on the lives of so many journalists, it’s vital that exemplary damages be made available in cases where the claimant has been particularly egregious, and to compensate the targeted journalist for psychological harm.

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• Dangerous, dystopian new laws are being introduced in Turkey ahead of 2023 presidential and parliamentary elections. Among the disturbing new amendments are new abusive criminal speech offences, posing further threats to digital freedom and access to information.

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