Concluding observations Human Rights Committee CCPR/C/IRN/CO/3 para
15
Full recommendation
The State party should urgently establish a full, impartial and independent
investigation into allegations of killings, torture and other ill-treatment during
and following the 12 June 2009 presidential elections, and prosecute those
officials found responsible.
Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators1
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 nonjudicial 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
1
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-suppressionof-dissent-in-iran/
3
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, 2013, https://iranhrdc.org/violent-aftermath-the-2009-election-and-suppressionof-dissent-in-iran/
4
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, 2013, https://iranhrdc.org/violent-aftermath-the-2009-election-and-suppressionof-dissent-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
10
Islamic Penal Code (2013), Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/islamic-penal-code-of-theislamic-republic-of-iran-book-five/
1