Yet, reports of cases of torture in the Islamic Republic of Iran are regular.10 11 Amnesty
International reported widespread and systematic use of torture by Iranian authorities against
protestors during and after the November 2019 protests.12 As of November 2020, there is no
readily available information that might indicate that Iranian authorities have opened
investigations compliant with international standards into allegations of torture committed by
police, security and intelligence agents and prison officials in the context of the November 2019
protests.
The right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is
limited and can be interfered with under Iranian law.
B. The Special Rapporteur urges the Government to abolish any provision which
authorize punishments such as flogging, blinding, amputation and stoning of
individuals convicted of certain offences
The Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran imposes corporal punishment for a significant
number of crimes. Articles 386 to 416 contain regulations allowing the imposition of a range of
punishment under qesas-e ozv (retaliation for injured limb or body part).13 Such punishments
include amputation of limbs, cutting of body parts and blinding. Under Article 278 of the Penal
Code, the crime of theft, when meeting certain conditions,14 is sentenced with “amputation of the
full length of four fingers of the right hand of the thief […]”.15 At least 149 crimes continue to be
punishable by flogging in Iran such as: consumption of alcohol, drug use and petty drug dealing,
theft, adultery, “flouting” of public morals, illegitimate relationships, and mixing of the sexes in
public.16
In 2002 then-Head of the Judiciary Ayatollah Shahroudi issued a ban on stoning,17 but it remains
a punishment for acts of adultery by a woman and a man who meet the condition of ehsan18
10
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, March 2018,
https://undocs.org/A/HRC/37/68
11
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, January 2020,
https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G20/021/53/PDF/G2002153.pdf?OpenElement
12
Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1328912020ENGLISH.PDF
13
Islamic Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran (2013) as referenced in “Flawed Reforms: Iran’s next Code of Criminal
Procedure”, Amnesty International, 2016, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1327082016ENGLISH.PDF
14
The conditions stipulated under this provision include but are not limited to the following: “The stolen property has a
legitimate value”, “the stolen property was placed in herz [a secure place]”, “the thief breached the herz [the secure place]”, and
“the theft was not committed in a time of famine” Article 268, Islamic Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran (2013), Iran
Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/english-translation-of-books-i-ii-of-the-new-islamic-penal-code/
15
Article 278 Islamic Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran (2013) Islamic Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iran
Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/english-translation-of-books-i-ii-of-the-new-islamic-penal-code/
16
For a list of acts punishable by flogging in Iranian law, see: Abdorrahman Boroumand Center
https://www.iranrights.org/library/document/3643
17
European Parliament Report, 2003, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+REPORT+A52003-0334+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN
18
The condition of ehsan is described under Article 226 of the 2013 Islamic Penal Code, English translation, Iran Human Rights
Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/english-translation-of-books-i-ii-of-the-new-islamic-penal-code/
3