treatment to coerce confession.31 Additionally, numerous reports have documented deaths and cases of ill-treatment of persons detained during the November 2019 protests.32 33 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.34 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 202035 and January 2021.36 Documents recently leaked to Amnesty International indicate that Iran’s Ministry of Health has repeatedly ignored urgent appeals from the Prisons Organization to remedy the widespread shortages of the protective equipment, disinfectant products, and medical supplies needed to fight the pandemic.37 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 centres. 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.”38 There is no readily available information about the outcome of such inspections or whether they led to the improvements of detention conditions. Above-mentioned information suggests that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has not prioritized addressing the state of its prisons. C. The Special Rapporteur urges the Government to investigate all allegations of torture and ill-treatment and hold accountable those found guilty The Iranian legal framework does not adequately protect individuals from torture and other-illtreatment and may well facilitate impunity. 31 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 32 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 33 Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde13/2891/2020/en/ 34 HRANA, https://www.en-hrana.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/COVID19_FEAR_IN_IRANS_PRISONS_.pdf 35 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 36 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, January 2021, https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=A%2FHRC%2F46%2F50&Language=E&DeviceType=Desktop 37 Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/07/iran-leaked-letters-reveal-state-denial-of-covid19crisis-in-prisons/ 38 National Report, UPR 2019, Islamic Republic of Iran, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/WG.6/34/IRN/1 4