The prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment is a jus cogens norm under international law
and cannot be restricted in any circumstances,11 including by conflicting domestic laws.
Concerning the restricted acts of torture banned under Iranian law, there are mechanisms
competent to receive and investigate complaints in Iran. The Supervision and Inspection Board,
established under the Law on Respect for Legitimate Freedoms and Safeguarding Citizen’s
Rights, monitors the compliance of policies and practices with the law and confronts those in
breach. The Board’s missions include submitting “the complaints it receives to the relevant
bodies and pursuing the investigation until it yields an outcome”; “deploying inspection groups
to the bodies”; and “preparing reports on the implementation of laws in the country every three
months and making them available to the public every three months.”12 The Supervision and
Inspection Board has also set up a database enabling victims and witnesses to submit their
complaints. On the occasion of its 2019 Universal Periodic Review, the Islamic Republic of Iran
stated that “the prosecutors, through judges stationed in prisons as well as the Secretariat of the
Protection of Citizenship Rights and provincial supervisory boards, conduct regular inspections
and investigate any reports or complaints” with regard to allegations of torture.13 There is no
readily available information that might indicate that complaints have been properly investigated
and adjudicated either by the Board or the Secretariat.
Additionally, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran reported that the Citizenship
Rights Watch Board carries out periodic inspections within prisons and detention centers.
According to the Government the body has “received and handled 3,275 complaints and reports
through the complaint system in relation with civil rights violations. Between 2015 and 2018, a
number of 28,504 inspections were carried out in prosecutors' offices, prisons and detention
centers.”14 There is no readily available information about the outcome of such inspections and
whether they led to the investigation of alleged acts of torture and ill-treatment of detainees.
The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran has
received numerous reports of abuse and mistreatment of detainees, including abusive use of
torture to extract confessions, use of solitary confinement, and medical treatments conditional
upon confession.15 Additionally, many reports have documented deaths and cases of ill-treatment
of persons detained during the November 2019 protests.16 17 There is no readily available
11
CCPR General Comment No. 20: Article 7, 10 March 1992, https://www.refworld.org/docid/453883fb0.html
See Executive By-law of Article 1(15) of the Law on Respect for Legitimate Freedoms and Safeguarding Citizens’ Rights.
13
Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, February 2020, https://undocs.org/en/A/HRC/43/12/Add.1
14
National Report, UPR 2019, Islamic Republic of Iran, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/WG.6/34/IRN/1
15
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, January 2020,
https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/IR/Report_of_the_Special_Rapporteur_on_the_situation_of_human_rights_in_the_
Islamic_Republic_of_IranA4361.pdf
16
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, January 2020,
https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/IR/Report_of_the_Special_Rapporteur_on_the_situation_of_human_rights_in_the_
Islamic_Republic_of_IranA4361.pdf
17
Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde13/2891/2020/en/
12
3