Annual Report by Freedom House: The Islamic Republic is an 'Autocratic Regime' and Iran is a 'Non-Free' Country

In the latest report by Freedom House, the Iranian government has been identified as one of the violators of freedom in the past year, and Iran continues to be recognized as a 'non-free' country in terms of freedom indices. Freedom House considers the extent of individuals' political rights and civil liberties in 2023 as a measure of global freedom. This report, titled 'Freedom in the World 2024: The Growing Adverse Effects of Questionable Elections and Armed Conflicts,' describes Iran as a country with an 'autocratic regime' that, in 2023, not only intensified repression and employed government agents in the 'violent suppression' of anti-government protests but also continued to circumvent sanctions like Russia. During the nationwide protests of 2022, which followed the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini in the custody of the morality police, over five hundred protesters were killed, hundreds injured, and thousands arrested. Part of the Freedom House report advises democratic leaders to limit the ability of 'regimes' like Iran and Russia to circumvent sanctions. According to the report, despite facing extensive sanctions in 2023, these two countries continued to export oil and supply weapons. The recent report from Freedom House also identifies 'election fraud' as a factor violating freedom in Iran, which has been among the countries that have fallen to the bottom of the freedom index over the past decade. Key factors such as 'manipulation of elections,' 'war,' and 'attacks on pluralism' have played a significant role in the decline of freedoms. Following the controversial presidential election in Iran in 2009, millions protested with the central slogan 'Where is my vote?' emphasizing the occurrence of 'widespread fraud' in this election. These widespread protests were met with violent repression by the government. Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi, leaders of the Green Movement, have been under house arrest since 2010. On the other hand, the twelfth round of the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections and the sixth round of the Assembly of Experts elections are scheduled to be held on March 2, 2024, in Iran. Many activists and political organizations in Iran consider these elections 'fruitless' and have called for a boycott. The website 'Khabar Online' reported on February 8, citing a government agency's poll results, that there would be a '30% participation' in the elections in March. This news was later removed from the website. Another section of the Freedom House report emphasizes the impact of factors such as 'coup d'états' and the role of 'autocratic governments' in the decline of freedom indices. According to this report, in 2023, the state of freedom deteriorated for the eighteenth consecutive year for residents of 52 countries, equivalent to one-fifth of the world's population. In contrast, the situation regarding political and civil liberties improved in 21 countries. The Freedom House report states that approximately 38% of the world's population currently lives in 'non-free' countries, 42% in 'partly free' countries, and only 20% in 'free' countries. Simultaneously, Michael J. Abramowitz, the president of Freedom House, announced that freedom at the international level has taken a significant step backward. He warned that with upcoming elections and ongoing armed conflicts in regions such as the Middle East and Eastern Europe, which lead to violations of fundamental freedoms, the world faces another serious test in 2024. The director of Freedom House called for democratic countries to respond to such challenges and emphasized that the deprivation of more of the world's population from fundamental freedoms would affect peace, prosperity, security, and the freedoms of all people. In a part of its recent report, Freedom House provided recommendations for protecting freedom indices and developing political rights and civil liberties globally. The report suggests that democratic governments continue to financially support freedom defenders worldwide, support the rights of residents in disputed areas such as Gaza and Nagorno-Karabakh, protect the conduct of free and fair elections, respond to subversive attempts against elected governments, and safeguard the lives of exiled human rights activists. According to Freedom House, at least 40 countries, home to more than two-fifths of the world's population, will hold national elections in 2024. Based on the statistics provided in this report, the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the countries of Niger and Tunisia experienced the highest decline in freedom in 2023, while countries such as Fiji, Thailand, and Nepal made progress in the area of freedom. The report emphasizes that democratic countries should expand partnerships globally based on common principles and establish rules that have been violated by governments like Iran, China, and Russia regarding sovereignty and autonomy. According to this report, the United States, as in past decades, is capable of playing a 'vital role' in the expansion of global freedoms. Freedom House also criticized the actions of some democratic countries regarding the suppression of global freedoms. According to this report, over the past decade, many democracies around the world have evaded their responsibilities as international observers by failing to condemn coups, not attempting to establish peace in destabilizing conflicts, and not preventing the escalation of repression in countries like Iran, Afghanistan, China, and Russia. According to this report, in 2023, 77% of the total 13 countries in the Middle East were classified as 'non-free.' Meanwhile, only 15% of all Middle Eastern countries were classified as 'partly free,' and merely 3% as 'free.' In other words, 93% of the population of this region, totaling 279 million, lacks freedom. In last year's Freedom House report, Iran was also classified among 'non-free' countries. The latest report from Freedom House indicates that Iran holds the record for the highest 'decline in internet freedom' in the world. Iran ranks 169th globally in 'economic freedom,' falling to the bottom of the Middle Eastern countries' table. Iran is at the bottom of the gender gap table; Azadeh Davachi stated that the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement was an outpouring of women's anger in Iran. Reporters Without Borders reported on Iran's drop in the press freedom index.