forces, had been killed,35 reports from human rights organizations have reported over 60 individuals being shot dead during the 2009 events,36 dozens of demonstrators killed by security forces,37 and several deaths of detainees after they were subjected to torture and ill-treatment.38 39 The post-election unrest of 2009 was not investigated by the Article 90 Committee, but by the Special Parliamentary Committee to Investigate the Status of Post-Election Arrestees, which was set up for the purpose in 2009.40 However, candidates for Parliament are subject to governmentrun committees’ and the Guardian Council’s screenings before being able to run for elections, notably to ensure that they are loyal to the Islamic Republic of Iran and the religious system of law.41 42 As a consequence, the impartiality and independence of the parliament’s investigation is not guaranteed. Although low-raking officials have been prosecuted and convicted for abuses, notably in the Kahrizak prison43 44, most of the highest-ranking officials involved in the 2009 protests, and subsequent human rights violations, have been either acquitted,45 sentenced to short prison sentences, or have not been prosecuted. 46 Cases of killings, torture and other ill-treatments during and following the 2009 protests have been largely reported and documented.47 48 49 50 Furthermore, the lack of legal safeguards against torture and other ill-treatments and the lack of oversight over security forces’ activities during the protests51 contribute to a legal framework unable to prosecute and hold those responsible for abuses accountable. 35 Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, 2013, https://iranhrdc.org/violent-aftermath-the-2009-election-and-suppression-ofdissent-in-iran/ See also: Amar-i Tazih va Mutafavit-i Yik Maqam-i Nizammiyih Iran az Qurbaniyan-i Khushunatha [New and Different Statistics of the Victims of Violence by an Iranian Law Enforcement Official], BBC Persian, Sept. 11, 2009, available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/2009/09/090910_si_violence_victims.shtml 36 Amnesty International, Submission to the Human Rights Committee, 2011, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CCPR_NGO_IRN_103_9081_E.pdf 37 Human Rights Watch, Submission to the Human Rights Committee, 2011, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CCPR_NGO_IRN_103_9079_E.pdf 38 Human Rights Watch, Submission to the Human Rights Committee, 2011, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CCPR_NGO_IRN_103_9079_E.pdf 39 Amnesty International, 2009, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/48000/mde131232009en.pdf 40 Human Rights Watch, 2012, https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/09/27/iran-bring-notorious-abuser-justice# 41 Reuters, 2020, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-election-factbox/factbox-choices-curtailed-irans-parliamentary-electionidUSKBN20B0C5 42 Brookings, 2016, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/markaz/2016/02/09/demystifying-irans-parliamentary-election-process/ 43 Human Rights Watch, 2012, https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/09/27/iran-bring-notorious-abuser-justice 44 Human Rights Watch, 2014, https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/11/19/iran-ruling-official-linked-protester-deaths 45 Human Rights Watch, 2012, https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/09/27/iran-bring-notorious-abuser-justice# 46 Human Rights Watch, 2012, https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/09/27/iran-bring-notorious-abuser-justice# 47 Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, 2013 https://iranhrdc.org/violent-aftermath-the-2009-election-and-suppression-ofdissent-in-iran/ 48 Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, 2013, https://iranhrdc.org/violent-aftermath-the-2009-election-and-suppression-ofdissent-in-iran/ 49 Human Rights Watch, Submission to the Human Rights Committee, 2011, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CCPR_NGO_IRN_103_9079_E.pdf 50 Amnesty International, 2009, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/48000/mde131232009en.pdf 51 Amnesty International, Submission to the Human Rights Committee, 2011, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CCPR_NGO_IRN_103_9081_E.pdf 5