Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions A/HRC/14/24/Add.1
paragraph 394
Full Recommendation:
Without in any way implying any conclusion as to the facts of the case, we should
like to appeal to your Excellency’s Government to seek clarification of the circumstance
regarding the cases of the persons named above. We would like to stress that each Gove
rnment has the obligation to protect the right to physical and mental integrity of all per
sons. This right is set forth inter alia in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators 1
Following the announcement of the victory of incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the
presidential election on June 12th, 2009, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Iran to
protest against the results. In response to the protests, the Islamic Republic sent the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Basij militia (a volunteer paramilitary force) to repress the
demonstrations.2 Due to the lack of official information about the whereabouts of victims, the total
number of those killed in the 2009 post-elections protests remains largely unknown. 3 Although the
government stated in September 2009 that a total of 36 people, including security forces, had been
killed,4 reports from human rights organizations have reported over 60 individuals being shot dead
during the 2009 events;5 dozens of demonstrators killed by security forces,6 and several deaths of
detainees after they were subjected to torture and ill-treatment.7 8
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”. 9
Similarly, Article 578 of the Islamic Penal Code asserts “any civil servant or judicial or non1
CCPR.6.1.S.2 ; CCPR.7.1.S.1;
CCPR.6.1.P.1 ; CCPR.6.1.P.2; CCPR.7.1.P.1
CCPR.6.1.O.2 ; CCPR.7.1.O.1 ; CCPR.7.1.O.2
2 Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, 2013 https://iranhrdc.org/violent-aftermath-the-2009-election-and-suppression-ofdissent-in-iran/
3 Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, 2013, https://iranhrdc.org/violent-aftermath-the-2009-election-and-suppression-ofdissent-in-iran/
4 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
5 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
6 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
7 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
8 Amnesty International, 2009, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/48000/mde131232009en.pdf
9 Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran English translation
http://www.iranchamber.com/government/laws/constitution_ch03.php
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