often held against human rights defenders, are not eligible for furlough8 unless requested
otherwise by the prosecutor or the chief judge of the judicial district.9 10 Prisoners of conscience
and human rights defenders therefore have a limited right to furlough in the Islamic Republic of
Iran. In February 2020, the Head of the Judiciary enabled the temporarily furlough of up to
120,000 prisoners to mitigate the risks of COVID-19 in prisons. However, UN Special
Procedures noted that such furlough has been denied to many eligible prisoners, notably human
rights defenders.11 12
Despite the existence of several mechanisms that ostensibly accept complaints regarding
violations of citizens' rights, such as the Article 90 Commission of the parliament (established
based on Article 90 of the Constitution, offering a mechanism to citizens to file complaint
against any of the three branches of power) and the Oversight Bodies for the exercise of
Citizenship Rights in the country's provincial courts, there is no evidence to suggest that
complaints to these bodies are independently reviewed and investigated.13 Additionally, in its
2019 National Report to the Universal Periodic Review, the Government of the Islamic Republic
of Iran reported that the Citizenship Rights Watch Board carries 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 to
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 improvements of detention
conditions.
In short, furlough and family visitation rights are not ensured to all prisoners in the Islamic
Republic of Iran.
Recommendation Status:
This recommendation has NOT been implemented.
8
Individuals convicted of armed robbery, espionage, acting against national security, running brothels, abduction, gang crimes,
disrupting the economic system, individuals convicted twice for the same crime, individuals serving a life sentence, individuals
awaiting execution or qisas, and those known to be “malfeasant” are not eligible for furlough.
9
Article 226, Regulatory Code of 11 Dec. 2005 (Governing the Prisons Organization and Security and Corrective
Measures), available at http://www.prisons.ir/index.php?Module=SMMPageMaster&SMMOp=View&PageId=27
10
See more: Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/rights-disregarded-prisons-in-the-islamic-republicof-iran/#3.2.4
11
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, July 2020, https://documentsdds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N20/190/27/PDF/N2019027.pdf?OpenElement
12
OHCHR News, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26244
13
Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee, Abdorrahman Center, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC),
Impact Iran and Human Rights Activists in Iran, 2020,
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=INT%2fCCPR%2fICS%2fIRN%2f42313
&Lang=en
14
National Report, UPR 2019, Islamic Republic of Iran, https://undocs.org/A/HRC/WG.6/34/IRN/1
2