must refrain from transferring detainees to unidentified locations.42 There is no readily available information that might indicate that committee established by the head of the judiciary is effectively ensuring that cases of enforced disappearances are properly investigated and adjudicated and that those responsible are held into account. Unofficial and secret detention facilities facilitate the perpetration of enforced disappearances. The lack of proper oversight of secret and unofficial detention facilities in the Islamic Republic of Iran hinders, if not prevents, accountability for perpetrators. Without proper legal safeguards enforced in practice, complaints of disappearances cannot be properly investigated, and culprits cannot be punished accordingly. Additionally, a number of restrictive provisions under Iranian law prevent relatives of detainees from being informed of the detainees’ arrests when deemed “necessary”,43 further, relatives cannot inquire about the detainees’ whereabouts if it “infringe[s] on the social and familial status of the detainees”,44 conditions that are not further defined and seemingly therefore arbitrary. The right of detainees to communicate with and receive visits of family members is restricted under Article 180 of the Prisons Regulations when judicial officials determine that correspondence is not in the interest of a “good trial proceeding,” without clarifying what could contravene “good proceedings” and without setting limitation as to the period of restriction.45 Competent judicial authorities can allow correspondence and/or visit during the prohibition period, however such decision does not appear to be subject to review by another official or body. Ultimately this means that judges can, in practice, deprive detainees of their right to have access to the outside world for an unlimited period of time. Such provisions enable Iranian authorities to keep information as to the whereabouts of individuals taken into custody from their families and facilitate the perpetration of enforced disappearances. Reports of enforced disappearances in the Islamic Republic of Iran are regular, with numerous families left without any information as to the whereabouts of their relatives held into custody. The Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances issued communications on 42 The Law on Respect for Legitimate Freedoms and Protection of Citizens’ Rights, 5 May 2004, Article 1(7), www.rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/94150 43 Article 50 of the revised Code of Criminal Procedure (2015) entitles individuals in custody to inform their relatives of their arrest but permits “judicial officers” to impose restrictions on such right when deemed “necessary”, without clarifying when and for how long such restrictions are allowed or specifying a competent official responsible for the approval of such decision. Relatives then must refer to judicial officials. 44 Article 49 of the revised Code of Criminal Procedure (2015) entitles relatives of detainees to inquire about them to the local Office of the Prosecutor, the Provincial Prosecutor, and the Head of the Justice Department in each province but only “to the extent that it does not infringe on the social and familial status of the detainees” without specifying what constitute such infringement. 45 Executive Regulations of the Prisons Organization, 11 December 2005, www.prisons.ir/page-main/fa/0/form/pId77 5