judicial agent who corporally mistreats and abuses an accused person in order to force him to
confess shall be sentenced […]”. 10 The prohibition is reinforced by the 2004 Law on Respect for
Legitimate Freedoms and Safeguarding Citizen’s Rights 11 and Article 60 of the revised Code of
Criminal Procedure (2015).12 None of these provisions exclude torture and other ill-treatment
inflicted on an individual for other purposes than extracting confessions or acquiring information.
Furthermore, the Iranian legislation does not provide a definition of torture nor recognize a specific
crime of torture.
Such shortcomings in the Iranian legal framework do not provide appropriate safeguards against
torture and other ill-treatment, including concerning accountability for the perpetrators. Indeed,
the absence of a specific crime of torture in Iranian law, added to restrictive legal provisions, both
in their definition and scope of application, hinder the possibility of prosecutions for crimes of
torture and other ill-treatments.
Article 570 of the Islamic Penal Code (2013) provides for the criminalization of officials and
authorities affiliated with state institutions and bodies who violate the rights of individuals. 13
Article 578 stipulates the sentence for civil servant or judicial or non-judicial agent “who
corporally mistreats and abuses an accused person in order to force him to confess” and adds “if it
is done under someone’s order, only the person who has issued the order shall be sentenced”. 14
Additionally, under Article 578, “if the accused person dies as a result of the abuses […] the person
who has issued the order shall be sentenced to the punishment provided for a person who has
ordered a murder”.15 The article, however, does not criminalize torture, nor does it use the term
“torture”, and limits the punishable violation to physical assault when it is “in order to force him
[the victim] to confess”.16 Furthermore, the Islamic Penal Code (2013) prescribes different
penalties depending on the religion of the perpetrator and/or the victim in cases of murder (Article
310), where sentences are harsher for non-Muslims.17
While it is technically possible to file complaints about violations if individuals are subjected to
torture, inhumane treatment or detention, there is, as of now, no evidence that judicial actions are
taken in response to complaints. The judicial disciplinary courts, the Armed Forces Judicial Court,
the Article 90 Commission of the Parliament and Oversight Bodies for the exercise of the
10
Islamic Penal Code (2013), Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/islamic-penal-code-of-the-islamicrepublic-of-iran-book-five/
11 Article 1(6), 1(7), 1(9) 2004 Law on Respect for Legitimate Freedoms and Safeguarding Citizen’s Rights as referenced by
Amnesty International, 2016, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1327082016ENGLISH.PDF
12 Code of Criminal Procedure (2015) as referenced by Amnesty International, 2016,
https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1327082016ENGLISH.PDF
13 Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre, Islamic Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran - Book Five , available at
https://iranhrdc.org/islamic-penal-code-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-book-five/
14 Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre, Islamic Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran - Book Five, available at
https://iranhrdc.org/islamic-penal-code-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-book-five/
15 Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre, Islamic Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran - Book Five, available at
https://iranhrdc.org/islamic-penal-code-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-book-five/
16
Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre, Islamic Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran - Book Five, available at
https://iranhrdc.org/islamic-penal-code-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-book-five/
17 Islamic Penal Code (2013) as referenced by Amnesty International,
https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1327082016ENGLISH.PDF
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