detainees were interrogated without the presence of an attorney.55 Reports have shown a pattern of reported cases where prisoners remain incarcerated without proper access to legal representation at all stages of their trial process. 56 57 Considering the above, the Islamic Republic of Iran has not strengthened its fair trial safeguards. C. The Special Rapporteur urges the Government to adopt all measures necessary to effectively guarantee the right of anyone to be free from arbitrary deprivation of their liberty. In this respect, she echoes the recommendations made by the previous mandate holder to investigate all allegations of torture and ill-treatment and to hold accountable those found guilty Article 38 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran only prohibits torture and other illtreatment when it is “used to extract an admission of guilt or to obtain information”.58 Similarly, Article 578 of the Islamic Penal Code asserts “any civil servant or judicial or non-judicial agent who corporally mistreats and abuses an accused person in order to force him to confess shall be sentenced […]”.59 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. 60 While Iranian law conditionally prohibits torture and certain abusive conduct 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,61 including by conflicting domestic laws. Additionally, the Human Rights Committee explicitly stipulated that the ill-treatment of “persons against whom criminal charges are brought and to force them to make or sign, under duress, a confession admitting guilt violates both Article 7 of the Covenant prohibiting torture and 55 Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, joint submission to the Human Rights Committee from the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, Impact Iran, Human Rights Activists in Iran, 2020, https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CCPR_ICS_IRN_42313_E.pdf 56 HRANA <https://www.en-hrana.org/political-prisoner-denied-access-to-an-attorney> 57 HRANA <https://www.en-hrana.org/arash-sadegh-golrokh-iraeis-lawyers-access-cases 58 Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran English translation http://www.iranchamber.com/government/laws/constitution_ch03.php 59 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/ 60 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/ 61 UN Human Rights Committee (HRC), CCPR General Comment No. 20: Article 7 (Prohibition of Torture, or Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment), 10 March 1992, available at https://www.refworld.org/docid/453883fb0.html 6