Online election criticism is a crime in Iran

Rights watchdog Freedom House ranked Iran as having the world’s third most repressive internet environment and lambasted the Islamic Republic for criminalizing online criticism to boost voter turnout and legitimize its presidential elections.

"(Authorities) criminalized any content that encouraged election boycotts or protests, or that criticized candidates ... (for) higher voter turnout to make the election seem legitimate, despite the arbitrary disqualification of most candidates," the group said in a report on Thursday.

The Iranian judiciary had warned that electoral laws prohibited candidates and their supporters from using foreign social media platforms, nearly all of which are blocked in the country, forcing the population to use Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to bypass bans.

This was particularly evident in the lead-up to Iran’s snap presidential election, called after the sudden death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.

In June, the Iranian Press Supervisory Board issued a directive warning that violators of electoral rules would face severe punishment, including a sentence of 74 lashes.

The instructions specified that disseminating content aimed at “the boycott of the elections and the lowering of participation ... (or) organizing any form of unauthorized protest gathering, strike, or sit-in” would be considered a crime.