The constitution provides for freedom of expression and of the press, except when words are deemed “detrimental to the fundamental principles of Islam or the rights of the public.” The law states that anyone who undertakes any form of propaganda against the state may be imprisoned for as long as one year; the law does not define “propaganda.” The law also provides for prosecution of persons accused of instigating crimes against the state or national security or “insulting” Islam; the latter offense is punishable by death. The government severely restricted freedom of speech and press, and it used the law to intimidate or prosecute persons who directly criticized the government or raised human rights issues. According to the CPJ, the government continued a campaign of press intimidation throughout the year.

Freedom of Speech: The law limited freedom of speech, including by members of the press. Individuals were not permitted to criticize publicly the country’s system of government, supreme leader, or official religion. Security forces and the country’s judiciary punished those who violated these restrictions, and often punished as well persons who publicly criticized the president, the cabinet, and the Islamic Consultative Assembly. The government monitored meetings, movements, and communications of opposition members, reformists, activists, and human rights defenders. It often charged persons with crimes against national security and insulting the regime based on letters, e-mails, and other public and private communications. During the year there were cases of the government increasing prison sentences for prisoners who wrote open letters criticizing their treatment or other government practices.

For example, on February 20, a judge in Branch 15 of the revolutionary court sentenced imprisoned lawyer and Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC) founding member Mohammad Seifzadeh to an additional six years’ imprisonment for “collusion against national security” and “spreading propaganda against the system” in connection with a 2011 open letter that Seifzadeh wrote to former president Khatami criticizing the country’s judicial system. On September 29, opposition news website Kaleme published a letter from Seifzadeh advising that a Branch 54 appellate court judge upheld his sentence.

Blogger Abbas Khosravi Faresani remained free on bail at year’s end pending trial. According to the CPJ, officers arrested Faresani in June 2012 and tortured him to force him to confess to “acting against national security,” “publishing lies,” “insulting the supreme leader,” and “membership in organizations related to Israel.”

There were developments in cases from previous years. On March 19, authorities released from prison Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani, the daughter of former president Rafsanjani and an outspoken political and women’s rights activist, after she completed her six-month sentence for “propaganda against the system.” She remained subject to a five-year ban on political and press activities. On May 15, according to the ICHRI, authorities released from prison Fariborz Rais-Dana after he completed his one-year prison sentence for “propaganda against the system” in connection with a 2010 interview with the BBC Persian service.

Press Freedoms: The government’s Press Supervisory Board issues press licenses, which it sometimes revoked in response to articles critical of the government or the regime. During the year the government banned, blocked, closed, or censored publications that were deemed critical of officials. The government did not permit foreign media organizations to film or take photographs in the country, required foreign correspondents to provide detailed travel plans and topics of proposed stories before granting visas, and attempted to influence correspondents through pressure. Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the main governmental agency in charge of audiovisual policy, directed all state-owned media. Under the constitution the supreme leader appoints the head of IRIB, and a council composed of representatives of the president, judiciary, and Islamic Consultative Assembly oversees IRIB’s activities. The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance reviews all potential publications, including foreign printed materials, prior to their domestic release and may deem books unpublishable, remove text, or require word substitution for terms deemed inappropriate.

Independent print media companies existed, but the government severely limited their operations. It closed or prohibited opposition and reformist newspapers, intimidated and arrested journalists, and censored news. Government-controlled print media was also subject to censorship and temporary closures for allegedly insulting the regime.

On October 28, according to domestic and international media, the country’s press supervisory board banned the reformist daily newspaper Bahar after it published an opinion article questioning whether the Prophet Muhammad had appointed Imam Ali his successor, one of Shia Islam’s principal beliefs. It remained banned at year’s end.

There were developments in previous years’ cases. The reformist newspaper Shargh resumed publication after a jury lifted a ban and acquitted its editor in December 2012. Ali-Akbar Javanfekr, a media adviser to former president Ahmadinejad and Iran newspaper manager, was free from prison at year’s end. In September 2012, Javanfekr began serving a six-month prison sentence he was issued in 2011 for “publishing materials contrary to Islamic norms” in connection with an article he wrote questioning the origins of aspects of the country’s women’s dress code.

Under the constitution private broadcasting is illegal. The government maintained a monopoly over all television and radio broadcasting facilities through the state-controlled IRIB. Radio and television programming, which was the principal source of news for many citizens (especially in rural areas where internet access was limited), reflected the government’s political and socioreligious ideology. There was some evidence that the government had stopped jamming foreign media by year’s end. Satellite dishes remained illegal but ubiquitous, although police intensified their campaign to confiscate satellite dishes around the country.

Violence and Harassment: The government and its agents harassed, detained, abused, and prosecuted publishers, editors, and journalists, including those involved in internet-based media, for their reporting (see also section 1.e.). The government also harassed many journalists’ families, and journalists in prison were often subjected to solitary confinement. According to the UN special rapporteur’s October report, at least 40 journalists and 29 bloggers and online activists were serving prison sentences in the country, and 23 journalists had been arrested since the start of the year. International NGOs reported that several journalists were forced into exile during the year and that authorities continued to close publications for political reasons.

On January 28, international media outlets reported that authorities had harassed and detained 11 employees of foreign media organizations for their “foreign contacts.” Domestic press reported the individuals had been picked up on a warrant from the judiciary as a result of their “cooperation with Persian-language antirevolutionary media.” In early March authorities released on bail all of the individuals they had detained except Sasan Aghaei and Nasrin Takhayori.

There were developments in previous years’ cases. On June 21, a court sentenced activist Saeed Madani to six years in prison and 10 years of internal exile in Bandar Abbas for “acting against national security” and “propaganda against the system.” He underwent surgery in July but returned to prison on July 24, where he remained at year’s end. Also in June a court gave Kurdish journalist and political activist Ehsan Houshmand a one-year suspended prison sentence for “propaganda against the system.” On July 3, journalist Fatemeh Kheradmand received a one-year prison sentence for “propaganda against the system” in connection with her work on an internet magazine. There was no further information available at year’s end regarding other journalists and bloggers arrested in early 2012, including Peyman Pakmehr, Parastoo Dokoohaki, Sahamoldin Borghani, Marzieh Rasouli, Shahram Manochehri, Hassan Fathi, Esmail Jafari, and Reza Jelodarzadeh.

In the 2011 case of Majzooban-e Noor website reporter and photojournalist Reza Entessari, on July 15, Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Entessari to eight years and six months in prison for “establishing an illegal group with the intent to undermine national security,” “propaganda against the system,” “insulting the leader,” and “disrupting the public order.” He remained in prison at year’s end.

Censorship or Content Restrictions: The law forbids government censorship, but it prohibits dissemination of information the government considers “damaging.” During the year the government censored publications – both reformist and conservative – that criticized official actions or contradicted official views or versions of events. “Damaging” information included discussions of women’s rights, the situation of minorities, and criticism of government economic policy. Officials routinely intimidated journalists into practicing self-censorship. Public officials often filed criminal complaints against reformist newspapers, and the Press Supervisory Board referred such complaints to the Media Court for further action, including closure and fines. Court proceedings were public with a jury composed of appointed clerics, government officials, and editors of government-controlled newspapers.

The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance’s censorship bars inappropriate content, including that pertaining to alcohol or describing physical contact between an unmarried woman and man.

NGOs reported that censorship increased in advance of the country’s June 14 presidential election. On April 30, the NGO Reporters Without Borders advised that the Ministry of Intelligence and National Security had summoned the editors of the country’s nationwide publications to inform them of election coverage “red lines.”

Libel Laws/National Security: The government commonly used libel laws or cited national security to suppress criticism. According to the law, if any publication contains personal insults, libel, false statements, or criticism, the insulted individual has the right to respond in the publication within one month. If the libel, insult, or criticism involves Islam or national security, the responsible person may be charged with apostasy and crimes against national security, respectively. The government applied the law throughout the year, often citing statements made in various media outlets or internet platforms that criticized the government, to arrest, charge, and sentence individuals for crimes against national security.

On March 7, intelligence officials in Mahabad, a predominantly Kurdish city in Kurdistan Province, arrested Kurdish journalist Khosro Kordpour. On March 9, authorities arrested his brother, Massoud Kordpour, when he inquired about the reasons for his brother’s arrest. Authorities reportedly held both men in solitary confinement for four months in Urmia, a city near the Turkish border, before transferring them to a prison in Mahabad. According to its response to the UN special rapporteur, the government accused the brothers of cooperating with terrorist groups. According to an October 24 AI report, evidence against the brothers was based on MOIS reports and chiefly related to their activities as journalists, including giving interviews to the foreign media on the human rights situation in Kurdistan Province.

Branch 1 of the Mahabad Revolutionary Court tried Khosro and Massoud Kordpour on August 5, September 16, and October 28 on charges of “assembly and collusion against national security” and “activities against the system.” On November 10, a judge sentenced Khosro Kordpour to six years in prison and Massoud Kordpour to three and one-half years in prison. Both men remained in prison at year’s end.

There were developments in several cases from previous years. On July 13, a Tehran Revolutionary Court judge sentenced Mostafa Daneshjoo, Farshid Yadollahi, and Amir Eslami each to seven and one-half years in prison for “forming an illegal group with intent to disrupt national security” in connection with their work on the Gonabadi Dervish website Majzooban-e Noor. According to the Austrian NGO Sudwind, on August 24, Daneshjoo suffered from respiratory disease and cardiac arrhythmia, and his health was in “very critical” condition. Amir Eslami underwent stomach surgery in August, but in September authorities transferred him back to Evin Prison before the end of his assigned recovery period, according to HRANA. Daneshjoo, Yadollahi, and Eslami remained in prison at year’s end. On September 23, authorities released women’s rights activist Mahboubeh Karami from prison and suspended her three-year prison sentence for “assembling with intent to harm state security” and “spreading propaganda against the system.” She remained out of prison at year’s end.

The constitution provides for freedom of association, but neither the constitution nor labor laws specify trade union rights. The law states that workers may establish an Islamic labor council or a guild at any workplace, but the rights and responsibilities of these organizations fall significantly short of international standards for trade unions. In workplaces where an Islamic labor council has been established, no other form of worker representation is permitted. The law requires prior authorization for organizing and concluding collective agreements, and it does not provide for the right to strike. Strikes are prohibited in all sectors, although private sector workers may conduct “peaceful” campaigns within the workplace. The law does not apply to establishments with fewer than five employees.

Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining were not respected. The government severely restricted freedom of association and interfered in worker attempts to organize. The government imprisoned, harassed, and restricted the activities of labor activists.

The Interior Ministry, Ministry of Labor, and Islamic Information Organization determined labor councils’ constitutions, operational rules, and election procedures. Workers’ House remained the only officially authorized national labor organization. Workers’ House leadership oversaw and coordinated activities with Islamic labor councils in industrial, agricultural, and service organizations with more than 35 employees. During the year the government pressured workers to join the government-sponsored councils. According to the ICHRI the labor councils, which consisted of representatives of workers and a representative of management, were essentially management-run unions that undermined workers’ efforts to maintain independent unions. Nonetheless, the councils were sometimes able to block layoffs and dismissals. Human rights organizations reported that employers routinely fired labor activists for trade union activities. There was no representative workers’ organization for noncitizen workers.

According to international media reports, security forces continued to respond to workers’ attempts to organize or conduct strikes with arbitrary arrests and violence. Strikes and worker protests often prompted a heavy police response, and security forces routinely monitored major worksites. Security and judicial officials continued to harass, detain, and imprison members of the Coordinating Committee to Form Workers’ Organizations. On March 7, according to the ICHRI, intelligence officials in Sanandaj simultaneously raided the homes of coordinating committee members Ghaleb Hosseini, Khaled Hosseini, Hamed Mohammadnejad, Behzad Farajollahi, Vafa Ghaderi, and Ali Azadi and arrested the six men. Between April 5 and May 9, authorities released all six committee members on bail of 50 million to 150 million tomans ($20,000 to $60,000). In July Branch One of the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court sentenced Ghaderi to one year in prison for membership in the committee. The Sanandaj Appeals Court subsequently reduced his sentence to five months. He remained in Sanandaj Prison serving his sentence at year’s end. The other five committee members arrested in Sanandaj on March 7 remained free on bail awaiting sentencing at year’s end.

There were developments in cases from previous years. On January 1, coordinating committee members Jamal Minashiri, Ebrahim Mostaphapour, Ghasem Mostaphapour, Mohammad Karimi, and Hadi Tanomand were released from prison on bail after authorities detained them in Bukan in December 2012. On February 11, a Bukan court reportedly tried all five individuals on charges of “acting against national security.” There was no further information available regarding their status or whereabouts at year’s end.

Reza Shahabi remained in prison at year’s end serving a six-year sentence imposed in May 2012 for “spreading propaganda against the system” and “gathering and colluding against state security” in connection with his union activities. Similarly, Kurdish labor activist and coordinating committee member Pedram Nasrollahi remained in prison at year’s end, having started his 19-month sentence for attempting to form a union in November 2012.

In the 2011 case of Mohammad Jarahi, a coordinating committee member serving a five-year prison sentence in Tabriz for labor activism, judicial authorities denied Jarahi a medical furlough after he underwent surgery to have his cancerous thyroid removed. He remained in prison at year’s end. Shahrokh Zamani, who was imprisoned in 2011 for participating in union activity, also remained in prison.

According to Education International, an international federation of education employees, and other sources, government authorities continued to prevent the Iranian Teachers Trade Association from holding meetings and continued to harass and detain its members. According to an October 2012 HRW report, authorities had detained at least 39 teachers on national security charges since 2009. Fifteen teachers were reportedly sentenced to prison and three others to death in connection with union activities, including demonstrating for higher wages.