Such heavy reliance on confessions facilitates the perpetration of torture and other-ill treatment
in order to force accuse into admission of guilt.
In practice, the Iranian criminal justice system relies heavily on confessions as primary evidence,
in particular for establishing guilt for offences that fall under hodud crimes (a crime for which a
fixed punishment is derived from the Qur’an or the Hadith). Numerous verdicts given in Iran
where concluded solely on the basis of the accused’s admission of guilt.6 7
The Government, Judiciary and Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran have not amended the
Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure to ensure that confessions alone are not
sufficient for admission of guilt.
Recommendation Status:
This recommendation has NOT been implemented.
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7
Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/12/12/iran-dissident-executed-vague-charges
UN News, https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/12/1079982
2