Concluding Observation of the Human Rights Committee CCPR/C/IRN/CO/3 para 14
Full recommendation:
The State party should ensure that an inquiry is opened in each case of alleged torture and cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment in detention facilities, and that the perpetrators of such acts are
prosecuted and punished appropriately. It should ensure that effective reparation, including
adequate compensation, is granted to every victim. The State party should also ensure that no
one is coerced into testifying against themselves or others or to confess guilt and that no such
“confession” is accepted as evidence in court, except against a person accused of torture or
other ill-treatment as evidence that the “confession” or other statement was made. (art 6, 7)
Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators1
A. The Islamic Republic of Iran should ensure that an inquiry is opened in each of
alleged torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in detention facilities,
and that perpetrators of such acts are prosecuted and punished appropriately.
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
Additionally, Article 39 prohibits all affronts to the dignity of detained or imprisoned persons.
Similarly, Article 578 of the Islamic Penal Code asserts that “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, while 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”. Punishments for committing such acts against a detainee or
prisoner are found under Article 587 of the Islamic Penal Code.4 It is important to note, that
although Iranian law generally prohibits torture and certain abusive practices during
interrogations, with some exceptions, it does not provide a definition of torture per se. Torture
and other ill-treatment inflicted on an individual for a purpose other than that of extracting
1
CCPR.7.S.1
CCPR.7.P.1
CCPR.7.O.1; CCPR.7.1.O.2; CCPR.7.1.O.3
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
Ibid.
1