for Legitimate Freedoms and Safeguarding Citizen’s Rights11 and Article 60 of the revised
Code of Criminal Procedure (2015).12 None of these provisions exclude torture and other illtreatment 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) provide 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 nonMuslims.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 Citizenship Rights in the country’s provincial courts are among the
institutions tasked with receiving and reviewing complaints. There is as yet no readily
available information as to how many complaints have been made and whether investigations
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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