Warning Over Intensifying Repression: Sixteen Citizens Arrested in Isfahan for Social Media Posts
15-June-2025
Category: Freedom of Expression
15 June 2025
News Category: Freedom of Expression – Arrests
Breathing in Confinement – Sixteen citizens have been arrested in Isfahan for allegedly offering “media support” to Israel by expressing views on social media about the recent Israeli airstrikes.
According to Breathing in Confinement, the news outlet of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, citing a statement by the Intelligence Department of Isfahan Provincial Police Command, the arrests were carried out in what the authorities described as “surprise operations” following Israeli airstrikes on various regions. The detainees face charges including “supporting and promoting Israeli actions,” “disturbing public opinion on social media,” “propaganda against the regime,” and “insulting the deceased.”
The official statement did not provide any details regarding the identities of those arrested or the specific content that led to the charges.
Breathing in Confinement expressed grave concern over the increasing restrictions on civil liberties in Iran, noting that under the pretext of “wartime conditions” and recent regional tensions, more sweeping constraints have been imposed on citizens’ fundamental rights, especially freedom of expression. Arresting individuals solely for expressing their views or sharing content online is in direct violation of core human rights principles, particularly Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the Islamic Republic of Iran is a signatory.
The rights organisation also warned that the use of vague and legally undefined charges such as “disturbing public opinion” allows for broad and arbitrary interpretations by security and judicial authorities, turning such terms into tools for suppressing legitimate criticism and dissenting views. This practice stands in direct conflict with the legal principle of no act can be deemed a crime unless it has been clearly and previously defined by law.
In this context, the police information centre reiterated that all user activity on social media is under continuous surveillance, and any content deemed by security bodies to cause “public disorder” or “disturb public opinion” may lead to legal prosecution.