A/HRC/34/40 Commission, indicated that the marriages of about 12,000 to 13,000 children had been carried out unofficially and without registration.20 46. Child marriage is a violation of human rights that puts girls at risk of physical, psychological, economic and sexual violence and can lead to a range of poor health and social outcomes and other negative consequences, including early pregnancy and high rates of maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. Child marriage has also been increasingly recognized by international human rights bodies as a contemporary form of slavery. The Secretary-General is concerned that recommendations by international human rights mechanisms, most recently by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in January 2016, have not led to the repeal of legal provisions authorizing child marriage and that the authorities continue to claim that girls as young as 9 years old getting married might be in their best interests. The Secretary-General encourages the Supreme Leader and the Council of Guardians to pronounce themselves clearly against child marriage and to lead efforts towards the eradication of this harmful practice. 47. Women and girls are still prohibited from attending and participating in sporting events. Between February and July, several women were prevented from attending the Beach Volleyball World Championships, the Premier League soccer season and the International Volleyball Federation World League matches. In April, women were excluded from the first international marathon to be held in the country and in November, the Iranian Wrestling Federation barred three female athletes from participating in a world wrestling competition. D. Restrictions on freedoms of expression and of peaceful assembly 48. The continued crackdown on media professionals, the pervasive restrictions on freedom of opinion and expression, including the closure of newspapers and magazines, and the ongoing monitoring, filtering and blocking of websites that carry political news and analysis remain of great concern. National security, espionage, propaganda against the system and insulting the Supreme Leader remain the most frequent charges invoked for the arrest and prosecution of journalists. At the end of the year, three opposition figures linked to the Green Movement, which gained popularity during the presidential elections of 2009, Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, remained under house arrest without formal charges or trial. 49. Hundreds of websites remain blocked and the Government has continued to tighten its control over social media. In December, the cyberpolice reportedly required Iranianowned channels with more than 5,000 followers on the most popular messaging application, Telegram, to seek official registration. The authorities reportedly arrested 32 administrators of channels on the Telegram social media platform and accused them of “disturbing public order” and “spreading lies”. 50. The Secretary-General welcomes the release, in January 2016, of Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post correspondent who had spent 544 days in prison. However, at least six journalists, including Chitsaz Afarin, Mohammad Seddigh Kaboudvand, Saeed Pourheydar, Issa Saharkhiz, Saman Safarzaee and Reihaneh Tabatabaie remained in prison at the end of 2016.21 51. In June, Ghanoon newspaper reportedly announced its closure pursuant to an order by the Chief Prosecutor in Tehran on the grounds that the paper was “publishing falsehoods with the intent to cause public anxiety”. In October, the Prosecutor ordered that the closure order be lifted. 52. In August, two bills posing threats to press freedom were introduced, reportedly without media workers being consulted. One of them foresees the creation of a media affairs commission, which would include members of the intelligence agencies. That 20 21 See www.ana.ir/news/166991. See Committee to Protect Journalists, 2016 prison census, available from cpj.org/imprisoned/2016.php. 9