Reportedly, prisons in Iran lack showers and adequate sleep amenities for their detainees.8 As
reported by Amnesty International as of June 2020,9 according to recent official statements,10
Iran’s prison population was around 211,000, two and half times more than the officially
declared capacity of 85,000.11
Numerous reports received by OHCHR have indicated that detainees are regularly kept in poor
conditions in Iranian prisons, notably due to overcrowding and serious lack of basic hygiene,
lack of adequate food and water and denial of access to medical care.12 13 14
A report published by the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center in partnership with the Human
Rights Activists News Agency found that conditions of detentions have further deteriorated since
the COVID-19 pandemic started. Prisons’ overcrowding facilitated the proliferation of COVID19 cases in several prisons.15 Such concerns have been echoed by the Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran in his report published in July 2020.16
In its 2019 National Report to the Universal Periodic Review, the Government of the Islamic
Republic of Iran reported that the Citizenship Rights Watch Board carries periodic inspections
within prisons and detention centers. According to the Government the body has “received and
handled 3,275 complaints and reports, through the complaint system, in relation with civil rights
violations. Between 2015 and 2018, a number of 28,504 inspections were carried out to
prosecutors' offices, prisons and detention centers.”17 There is no readily available information
about the outcome of such inspections and whether they led to the improvements of detention
conditions, notably the reduction of overcrowding, the provision of adequate sleeping facilities to
prisoners. Additionally there is no readily available information that might suggest that custodial
officers have been held accountable for the reported poor prison conditions.
8
See more: Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/rights-disregarded-prisons-in-the-islamic-republic-ofiran/#3.2.3
9
Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/07/iran-leaked-letters-reveal-state-denial-of-covid19crisis-in-prisons/
10
https://www.irna.ir/news/83819418/ھﺴﺘﻨﺪ-ﮐﺸﻮر-ھﺎی-زﻧﺪان-در-ﻧﻔﺮ-ھﺰار-٢١١
11
https://www.tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1398/02/25/2011935/دارﯾﻢ-زﻧﺪاﻧﯽ-ظﺮﻓﯿﺖ-ﺑﺮاﺑﺮ-5-2-ھﺎ-زﻧﺪان-ﺳﺎزﻣﺎن-رﺋﯿﺲ
12
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, January 2020,
https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/IR/Report_of_the_Special_Rapporteur_on_the_situation_of_human_rights_in_the_
Islamic_Republic_of_IranA4361.pdf
13
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, July 2020,
https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=A%2F75%2F213&Language=E&DeviceType=Desktop
14
UN News, https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/10/1074722
15
HRANA, https://www.en-hrana.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/COVID19_FEAR_IN_IRANS_PRISONS_.pdf
16
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, July 2020,
https://undocs.org/A/75/213
17
National Report, UPR 2019, Islamic Republic of Iran, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/WG.6/34/IRN/1
2