Prisoners’ rights in international law; from global standards to the reality of Iranian prisons/Sina Yousefi

The extent to which a legal system adheres to the rule of law cannot be measured solely through criminal laws or court decisions; one of the most accurate measures of its assessment is the way in which individuals who are deprived of their liberty for any reason are treated. Contrary to popular belief, prison is […]...

Read More

Vakilabad, the Forgotten Prison/ Majid Shia’ali

Last July, events occurred in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad that have had little precedent in the history of this prison. The detainees of the protests of last January are still present in this prison in large numbers. Although the number of detainees has decreased from more than a thousand to about four hundred during this […]...

Read More

Solitary cell: A place to break a person/ Marziye Mohebbi

What is solitary confinement, what are its conditions, is it essentially torture or punishment, and how does it debilitate a prisoner and cause his psyche to go into turmoil? How does loneliness and disconnection from the world destroy humanity, and why does the Islamic Republic, in its unparalleled and advanced set of physical and mental […]...

Read More

Fair trial from arrest to trial/ Lohrasb Kouhestani

The interval between the moment of arrest and the day of trial is the most sensitive, critical, and at the same time the most vulnerable part of the criminal justice process. It is during this period that the individual is directly confronted with the powerful and organized machine of state prosecution; while his guilt has […]...

Read More

Law and Violence Behind Prison Walls/ Morteza Hamounian

It is no longer strange for officers to shoot at people in the streets and in the face of public protests. Of course, it was strange at one time; an air shot in the ceiling would scare everyone, wondering why the security officers had started shooting. But today, and especially after what happened in 2009, […]...

Read More

Why is independent monitoring part of the minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners?/ Shabnam Moinipour

When a prison door is closed, the government does not just restrict a person’s freedom. Water, food, medicine, sleep, light, contact with family, access to a lawyer, the ability to file a complaint, and even record what a prisoner has been through are all at the disposal of the institution that has detained him. This […]...

Read More

Bangkok Rules and Women Prisoners in Iran/ Maryam Abedi

The protection of human dignity is a fundamental principle of international human rights law and the basis for the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty. Deprivation of liberty refers solely to the deprivation of freedom of movement, and states are still obliged to guarantee the fundamental rights of prisoners, including the right to health, […]...

Read More

Death in Custody and State Responsibility/ Diako Moradi

Deaths in custody are among the most sensitive issues in international human rights law and one of the most significant indicators for assessing a state’s commitment to the rule of law. When an individual is deprived of liberty, the state assumes not only the authority to restrict that person’s freedom but also the direct responsibility […]...

Read More

Rights of the accused during detention/Raha Sabet Sarvestani

The right to a fair trial is one of the most fundamental human rights and one of the most important guarantees for the protection of human dignity in contemporary legal systems. This right is not limited to the trial stage, but begins from the very first moments of deprivation of liberty. The experience of various […]...

Read More

Why no court should rely on forced confessions/Hermineh Hourdad

Forced confession is one of the most well-known tools of human rights abuse in authoritarian and totalitarian regimes. In such regimes, confession is used not only as evidence to prove a crime, but also as a means to legitimize government actions, create public fear, discredit opponents, and shape the official narrative of events. Historical experience […]...

Read More