Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
A/HRC/43/61 para 70(a)
Full recommendation:
The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government, the judiciary and the parliament, as
appropriate: Ensure that medical care is urgently provided to those individuals in detention who
need it, in light of the imminent threat to life or serious deterioration of their health, and that all
individuals in custody receive adequate, prompt and regular health care, including specialist
care as needed, on the basis of their informed consent;
Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators1
A. The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government, judiciary and the
parliament, as appropriate: Ensure that medical care is urgently provided to those
individuals in detention who need it, in light of the imminent threat to life or serious
deterioration of their health.
Iran’s prison regulations address the management and supervision of all prisons and detention
centers in the country. These regulations also address the conditions in detention centers, such as
the detainees’ ability to access adequate food, water and medical care and receive visits and
communications from family members. The regulations specify that all prisoners should have
access to medical care, including regular medical check-ups, and that their medical needs should
be addressed to the fullest extent possible within the center, unless transfer to treatment centers
outside the prison is considered necessary.2 3
Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council have sent numerous communications
raising concerns about the health conditions of a number of prisoners while they were in
detention. More recently, the body raised concerns about the added health risks brought by the
COVID-19 pandemic for those who are detained.
For example, Mr. Arash Sadeghi4 was the subject of six communications from Special
Procedures, raising concerns about the poor state of health he was in while in detention.5 The
Government only responded to four of the communications. Despite the Working Group on
1
CCPR.10.1.S.1
CCPR.10.3.P.2 ; CCPR.10.3.P.3
CCPR.10.1.O.1; CCPR.10.1.O.2; CCPR.10.1.O.3
2
See more: Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/rights-disregarded-prisons-in-the-islamic-republic-ofiran/
3
See more: Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1341962016ENGLISH.PDF
4
United For Iran, https://ipa.united4iran.org/en/prisoner/1931/
5
Special Procedures Communication sent to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 8 September 2020, UA IRN
21/2020, https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=25522
1