A team of United Nations investigators called on Iran Thursday to immediately withdraw draft legislation that could lead to decades-long prison sentences for simply communicating with foreign persons or entities.
The UN's Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran said it was "appalled" by the bill currently before the Iranian parliament, warning that it constituted "a dangerous escalation in suppressing fundamental freedoms and isolating Iranians from the international community".
The text has yet to be finalized, but the draft says "any activity or communication by natural or legal persons, whether Iranian or foreign, that undermines independence, national unity, Islamic standards, or national sovereignty" would be prohibited.
The draft legislation is aimed at protecting "the independence, sovereignty, national unity, and cultural identity" of Iran, it says.
The UN investigators warned in a statement that this meant any alleged interaction "with designated foreign states, media outlets, academic institutions, human rights defenders and civil society groups could be prosecuted as major security offenses".
With discussions still underway in Iran's parliament, it was not clear how long sentences could be, but the investigators said journalists, academics, activists and others could face up to 30 years behind bars for communicating with foreign entities.
The fact-finding mission, which does not speak on behalf of the United Nations, pointed out that the "broad and vaguely worded bill" would require Iranians to declare and register all "activities with foreign agents or foreign nationals".
They could then face criminal prosecution if they failed to obtain prior approval for activities like publishing books and articles, operating newspapers, sharing data and engaging in academic cooperation, the investigators warned.
Economic, commercial and financial activities, including money transfers or providing goods and services, would also be subject to approval, they said.
"We are appalled at the steps by the government of Iran to subject everyday Iranians to blanket criminalization for any contact with the outside world," mission chief Sara Hossain said in the statement.
Abbas Golro, head of the Iranian parliament's foreign affairs committee, told local news agency Mehr on Thursday that the bill aims to "protect Iranian citizens against any foreign influence".
"There is no cause for concern regarding this bill, and in my view, the criticism leveled against it stems from an insufficient understanding of its provisions," he said.
The three-person fact-finding mission was set up by the UN Human Rights Council in November 2022, following Iran's crackdown on a wave of protests sparked by the death in custody of an Iranian Kurdish woman named Mahsa Amini.
