Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
A/HRC/40/67 para 70(b)
Full recommendation:
The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government and Parliament ensure that prisoners
are protected from all forms of torture and other ill-treatment. Ensure that confessions obtained
through such treatment are never admitted as evidence against the accused.
Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators1
A. The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government and Parliament ensure
that prisoners are protected from all forms of torture and other ill-treatment.
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.”2
Additionally, Article 39 prohibits all affronts to the dignity of detained or imprisoned persons.
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 […]”3 Such provision is reiterated under Article 60 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure. Article 169 of the Prison Regulations prohibits “corporal punishment of the
accused or convicts, and imposing violent, excruciating or humiliating punishments, in all penal
institutions and prisons” and punishments are provided under Article 587 of the Islamic Penal
Code. 4 While Iranian law prohibits - conditionally - torture and certain abusive conducts during
interrogations, it does not provide a definition of torture per se. Torture and other ill-treatment
inflicted on an individual for other purposes than extracting confessions and/or information is
not, therefore, explicitly prohibited.
The prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment is a jus cogens norm under international law
and cannot be restricted in any circumstances,5 including by conflicting domestic laws.
The Iranian legal framework does not adequately protect individuals from torture and other-illtreatment and may well facilitate impunity. While Iranian laws provide for the accountability of
1
CCPR.7.1.S.1
CCPR.7.1.P.1
CCPR.7.1.O.1; CCPR.7.1.O.2
2
Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran English translation
http://www.iranchamber.com/government/laws/constitution_ch03.php
3
Islamic Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran (2013), English translation, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center,
https://iranhrdc.org/islamic-penal-code-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-book-five/
4
Islamic Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran (2013), English translation, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center,
https://iranhrdc.org/islamic-penal-code-of-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-book-five/
5
CCPR General Comment No. 20: Article 7, 10 March 1992, https://www.refworld.org/docid/453883fb0.html
1