Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
A/67/369 para 79
Full recommendation
The Special Rapporteur again emphasizes his concern about alleged violations of rights
of due process, and requests that the Government investigate allegations of physical and
psychological torture and the denial of due process rights. In this regard, the Special
Rapporteur also re-emphasizes the need for an extensive, impartial and independent
investigation into the violence in the weeks and months that followed the presidential election of
2009. He reiterates his call for the immediate release of all political prisoners and prisoners of
conscience, including those alluded to in the current and previous reports; requests that the
treatment of prisoners meet minimum international and national standards; and that prisoners
are granted adequate access to medical care, in accordance with international standards and
Iranian law.
Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators1
A. The Special Rapporteur requests that the Government investigate allegations of
physical and psychological torture and the denial of due process rights.
Article 38 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran prohibits torture and other illtreatment, but only when it is “used to extract an admission of guilt or to obtain information.”2
Similarly, Article 578 of the Islamic Penal Code asserts “any civil servant or judicial or nonjudicial agent who corporally mistreats and abuses an accused person in order to force him to
confess shall be sentenced […]”.3 Such provision is reiterated under Article 60 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure. Article 169 of the Prison Regulations prohibits “corporal punishment of the
accused or convicts, and imposing violent, excruciating or humiliating punishments, in all penal
institutions and prisons” and punishments are provided under Article 587 of the Islamic Penal
Code. 4 While Iranian law conditionally prohibits torture and certain abusive conduct during
interrogations, it does not provide a definition of torture per se. Torture and other ill-treatment
inflicted on an individual for purposes other than extracting confessions and/or information is,
therefore, not explicitly prohibited.
1
CCPR.7.1.S.1; CCPR.9.1.S.1; CCPR.9.1.S.2; CCPR.9.1.S.3; CCPR.9.2.S.1; CCPR.9.3.S.2; CCPR.14.1.S.2
CCPR.7.1.P.1; 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.1; CCPR.7.1.O.2; CCPR.7.1.O.3; CCPR.9.1.O.1; CCPR.9.2.O.1; CCPR.9.2.O.4; CCPR.14.1.O.8; CCPR.9.1.O.1
2
Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran English translation
http://www.iranchamber.com/government/laws/constitution_ch03.php
3
Islamic Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran (2013), English translation, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center,
https://iranhrdc.org/islamic-penal-code-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-book-five/
4
Islamic Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran (2013), English translation, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center,
https://iranhrdc.org/islamic-penal-code-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-book-five/
1