communications with the family. Prison regulations include the right for detainees to have a
bed19 and stipulate that prisons should have enough showers to enable detainees to shower at
least once a week.20
The Iranian Prisons Organization, the governmental agency in charge of overseeing prisons in
the country, has reportedly faced funding and investment challenges. In 2017, then-Head of the
Organization stated in an interview that there were not enough funds to provide three adequate
meals to prisoners.21 The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been increasing the
annual budget of the Organization22 and reports indicate the budget of the Organization is spent
on the provision of food, clothing, and health care services.23
However, despite the lack of readily official and available information, NGO reports suggest that
investments to improve the conditions of detention are insufficient.
Reportedly, prisons in Iran lack showers and adequate sleep amenities for their detainees.24 As
reported by Amnesty International, as of June 202025 and according to recent official
statements,26 Iran’s prison population was around 211,000, two and half times more than
the official capacity of 85,000.27
Numerous reports received by OHCHR indicate that detainees are regularly kept in poor
conditions in Iranian prisons, notably due to overcrowding and a serious lack of basic hygiene,
adequate food, water, and denial of access to medical care. 28 29 30 The Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran received numerous reports of abusive
use of solitary confinement and torture to extract confessions, as well as withholding medical
19
Article 71, Regulatory Code of 11 Dec. 2005 (Governing the Prisons Organization and Security and Corrective Measures),
available at http://www.prisons.ir/index.php?Module=SMMPageMaster&SMMOp=View&PageId=27
20
Article 108, Regulatory Code of 11 Dec. 2005 (Governing the Prisons Organization and Security and Corrective Measures),
available at http://www.prisons.ir/index.php?Module=SMMPageMaster&SMMOp=View&PageId=27
21
Aftab News, https://aftabnews.ir/fa/news/499098/
22
ILNA News, https://www.ilna.news/fa/tiny/news-707499
23
Mehr News, www.mehrnews.com/xQMTN
24
See more: Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/rights-disregarded-prisons-in-the-islamic-republicof-iran/#3.2.3
25
Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/07/iran-leaked-letters-reveal-state-denial-of-covid19crisis-in-prisons/
26
https://www.irna.ir/news/83819418/٢١١-ھﺴﺘﻨﺪ-ﮐﺸﻮر-ھﺎی-زﻧﺪان-در-ﻧﻔﺮ-ھﺰار
27
https://www.tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1398/02/25/2011935/دارﯾﻢ-زﻧﺪاﻧﯽ-ظﺮﻓﯿﺖ-ﺑﺮاﺑﺮ-5-2-ھﺎ-زﻧﺪان-ﺳﺎزﻣﺎن-رﺋﯿﺲ
28
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
29
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
30
UN News, https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/10/1074722
3