A Study on the Right to Freedom of thought and Expression and Its Criminal Limitations Under Iranian Law

Freedom of thought and expression is a natural right inherent in every human being and cannot be reprimanded or questioned. Furthermore, this opinion may be expressed as long as it does not infringe upon the rights of others or the normative values of society. Governments should ensure compliance with this general principle and allow individuals to express their opinions and beliefs without fear of repercussion. In other words, there should be no undue restrictions on the expression of individual opinions. Today, all societies recognize basic human rights, one of which is freedom of expression. Freedom of expression right finds its meaning in the expression of opinion. Freedom of expression is exercised through acts, actions, speech (written, news, television, performances, etc.), or through enjoying of good, prohibition of wrong, consultation, criticism, etc. In this study, the descriptive analysis method is used. For this purpose, books, articles, and related discussions were surveyed to collect the necessary points in this area. After analysis, they were summarized by deductive reasoning method.