Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
A/HRC/28/70 para 95
Full recommendation:
The Special Rapporteur welcomes the prosecution of Saeed Mortazavi for his role in facilitating
illegal detentions, but notes that such investigations and rulings appear to be exceedingly rare,
especially when compared with the high volume of similar reports of arbitrary detention,
torture and ill-treatment of detainees emanating from the country. He calls on the authorities
to prosecute and sentence appropriately all officials found responsible for the torture and illtreatment of detainees, in line with Iranian and international law. He encourages the
Government to address the substandard detention conditions identified previously by the human
rights mechanisms and in the present and previous reports of the Special Rapporteur that may
have been identified by its own audit. He implores the Government to ensure adequate access to
medical treatment in line with international standards.
Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators1
A. The Special Rapporteur calls on the Iranian authorities to prosecute and sentence
appropriately all officials found responsible for the torture and ill-treatment of
detainees, in line with Iranian and international law
The former Tehran Prosecutor General at the time of the 2009 post-elections unrests, Saeed
Mortazavi, was subject to the Special Parliamentary Committee investigation in 2010. The
Committee found that Saeed Mortazavi was one of the main individuals responsible for the
transfer and mistreatment of demonstrators at the Kahrizak prison.2 However, it is two years
later, in 2012, that the Iranian authorities opened a criminal case against Saeed Mortazavi, then
head of the Iran’s Social Security Organization.3 The investigation looked into the alleged postelection abuses at Kahrizak prison, where three demonstrators reportedly died as a result of
torture and ill-treatments.4 In 2018 a court ultimately convicted Saeed Mortazavi for the death of
one of the three above-mentioned demonstrators and sentenced him to two years of prison.5
However, Saeed Mortazavi was reportedly released in September 2019.6 Only one complaint
1
CCPR.7.1.S.1; CCPR.14.1.S.2; CCPR.9.3.S.2; CCPR.9.1.S.1; CCPR.9.1.S.2; CCPR.9.2.S.1
CCPR.7.1.P.2; CCPR.14.1.P.3; CCPR.9.5.P.2; CCPR.9.1.P.1; CCPR.9.1.P.2; CCPR.9.1.P.5; CCPR.9.1.P.6: CCPR.9.2.P.1;
CCPR.9.3.P.1
CCPR.7.1.O.2; CCPR.7.1.O.3; CCPR.14.1.O.5; CCPR.14.1.O.6; CCPR.14.1.O.8; CCPR.9.2.O.4; CCPR.9.1.O.1 ; CCPR.9.2.O.1;
CCPR.9.2.O.4; CCPR.9.1.O.1
2
Human Rights Watch, 2012, https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/09/27/iran-bring-notorious-abuser-justice
3
Ibid.
4
Ibid.
5
Human Rights Watch, 2018, https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/04/24/notorious-iranian-prosecutor-behind-bars-now
6
Radio Farda, 2019, https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-releases-notorious-former-prosecutor-mortazavi-jailed-for-prisonerdeaths/30151955.html
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