Iran’s Prison Regulations do not explicitly prohibit the use of unofficial or secret detention
centers. Intelligence and security bodies are permitted to run special detention facilities for
people accused of national security offences. 17 While the revised Code of Criminal Procedure
(2015) requires the maintenance of an official records of all detainees, the provisions do not
require records as to location or health status. 18 UN Special Procedures have argued that
incommunicado detention is inconsistent with international human rights law, 19 including the
right to fair trial, and that prolonged incommunicado detention creates conditions that may
lead to the perpetration of torture. 20 The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran did not
provide information as to whether investigation into allegations of torture have been
conducted.
The Article 90 Commission of the Parliament is in charge of investigating complaints from
citizens made against the operations of the Parliament itself, the Executive and the
Judiciary.21 There is no publicly available information on data relating to the number of
complaints received and investigated vis-à-vis cases of torture perpetrated during detention
and incommunicado detention. The Iranian High Council for Human Rights has been
established as a “national coordinating and policy-making institution in the field of human
rights”22 and is reportedly composed mostly of government and judicial officials. 23 There is
no readily available information that might indicate that the institution monitors the
compliance of prisons and unofficial/secret detention facilities with international human
rights standards.
Although Messrs. Yousef Laftepour, Damir Mahavi, Ahmad Savaedi, Maher Mahavi, Valid
Nisi, Majed Fowadi had their sentences commuted to five years of prison, Mr. Ali Savaed
[the spelling of the names as contained in the response differ from the one provided by the
source] was executed despite the request of the Special Procedures’ request. The Government
of the Islamic Republic of Iran did not answer the questions whether fair trial guarantees
were respected and whether allegations of torture were thoroughly investigated.
Recommendation Status:
This recommendation has NOT been implemented.
17
Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1327082016ENGLISH.PDF
Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1327082016ENGLISH.PDF
19 Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (See opinions Nos. 53/2016 and 56/2016.) Special Rapporteur on torture and other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (see A/HRC/13/39/Add.5, para. 156).
20 Committee Against Torture (see A/54/44, para. 182(a)). General Assembly (see (A/54/44)
21 Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/internal-regulation-on-the-commission-of-article-90-ofthe-constitution/
22 National Report Submitted In Accordance With Paragraph 15 (A) Of The Annex To Human Rights Council Resolution
5/1: Islamic Republic of Iran, UN Doc. A/HRC/WG.6/7/IRN/1, 18 November 2009, para. 65
23 https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CCPR_NGO_IRN_103_9081_E.pdf
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