The judicial system of the Islamic Republic, from its early days until now, has prioritized security and maintaining the status quo, making it a tool for all kinds of oppression and widespread human rights violations. In Iran, we do not have an independent judicial system. Article 57 of the Constitution states, “The governing powers in the Islamic Republic are the legislative, executive, and judicial powers, which operate under the absolute guardianship of the Supreme Leader and the principles of this law. These powers are independent from each other.” In reality, the judiciary, which is under the control of the Supreme Leader, cannot truly be considered independent. Therefore, the judicial system of the Islamic Republic has never acted independently in the face of the people and has always been subservient to the security institutions, lacking the power to stand up against their authority. If someone has managed to stand up for the rights of the oppressed and against injustice, it is due to the influence of the transparent movement of justice and the display

In the movement of “Women, Life, Freedom”, the justice court that was the dream of modern Iran, became a target of open and hidden military attacks, and the helpless and oppressed people were severely tortured, attacked, hungry, condemned, falsely pardoned, and ultimately re-arrested.

In the midst of all this, “Javad Rouhi” is a young man from Nowshahr who had studied law, but unemployment and the collapse of his family life had pushed him into the storm of the revolutionary movement. The only undeniable truth we know about the accusations against him is his exhilarating dance in the streets of Nowshahr; a dance of the most beautiful manifestations of a pure civil action that challenges the ideological order based on sorrow, distress, mourning, and self-harm. Javad Rouhi was a helpless prisoner who became a victim and a candidate for death, so that the rope of the Islamic Republic, still soaked in the blood of the homeland, would continue to hang in front of everyone’s eyes and spread terror and horror.

Although his death sentence was overturned due to numerous contradictions and lack of conformity with reality in the Supreme Court of the country, he was not granted amnesty in a completely discriminatory situation and contrary to the announced regulations. Under the crushing weight of endless waiting, he lost his hope and well-being minute by minute.

According to the story of Majid Kaveh, the lawyer of this political prisoner, he was sick before his arrest and this matter has been repeatedly mentioned and recorded in the preliminary stages of the investigation until the final stage. Security agencies, in their initial reactions to the death of Javad Rouhani, have claimed that he was suffering from seizures and illness before his arrest. Among them, the Mizan News Agency has violated an important ethical and legal principle that does not allow the secrets of the accused to be revealed in public, claiming that he was suffering from a mental illness before his arrest; although all of this could be a repetitive scenario that is usually created after unjust eliminations.

“Amnesty International stated in a statement about the death of Javad Rohi: “He was subjected to physical and psychological torture during his detention and was forced to confess against himself. After his arrest, he was subjected to six weeks of enforced disappearance and his family had no information about his fate. During this time, he was held in detention by the Revolutionary Guards and in solitary confinement in Tehran’s Evin Prison, where he was severely beaten and whipped, including on the soles of his feet. He also endured electric shocks and sexual abuse, including having ice placed on his testicles for 48 hours while being tied to a pole.”

But the judicial system must eventually answer these questions: why does it neglect all the laws that give it its strength and identity, and what determines its essence, and instead trample them underfoot and forget them?

For the Islamic Republic, law is a deceitful show; from the constitution to ordinary laws, regulations and directives, none can tolerate the slightest breeze of freedom. Article 38 of the constitution states that “any form of torture for the purpose of obtaining confession or information is prohibited. Forcing someone to testify, confess or take an oath is not allowed, and such testimony, confession or oath is devoid of value and credibility. Violators of this principle will be punished according to the law”, but fear and helplessness reign over the fields of injustice under the regime’s tyranny.

The United Nations and international organizations’ regulations are pieces of paper that are only used for the people of Gaza or opponents of Western governments.

On this basis, all the rules of criminal procedure apply when dealing with someone who is suspended while dancing in the street.

For example, if he was ill at the time of his arrest, his right to the implementation of Article 51 of the Criminal Procedure Code should have been notified to him and in addition to being introduced to a doctor, the necessary certificate should have been recorded in the case file. However, instead of implementing this article, Javad Rouhi has been tortured in the most savage ways possible and not only have they not thought about his treatment, but other serious illnesses have also been inflicted upon him. Furthermore, the provisions of Article 190 of the Criminal Procedure Code regarding access to a lawyer have not been implemented for him and he apparently only had a lawyer appointed for him in the final stages of the trial. He could not, in a situation where he was severely tortured and suffered serious and irreparable physical and mental problems, contact a criminal lawyer of his choice. It must be asked, has a case been formed for him based on the “Guidelines for the Formation of the Accused’s Personal

Directive – In case of being affected by incurable diseases and observing the interests of the head of the institution or prison, he/she can propose the pardon of the convicted to the relevant authorities.

Did he have access to medical facilities and medication in prison? Why was he not transferred to a hospital outside of prison on his last day of life despite multiple visits?

Why is Iran, as a member of the United Nations, completely disregarding the provisions of the 1977 UN document titled “Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners” and even refusing to implement one of its clauses, and paying no attention to the UN resolution on “Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners” adopted in 1990? How is this system able to remain immune from any accountability for its crimes in the global order?

The Islamic Republic has been in a critical period for forty-five years; forty-five years in which rulers have always been faced with the fear of collapse and have suspended the law under the pretext of exceptional circumstances. They have inflicted unprecedented misery on the people by depriving them of their structured possessions and have launched a broad and long repressive apparatus at the cost of people’s bread and housing. Outside the borders, they spend the country’s budget on appeasing the most backward groups and international institutions, and for all these misguided actions, they halt the implementation of the law first.

The government does not enforce the same laws that have been formulated and identified by it, and instead creates an ineffective political environment. They use force and violence to enforce their own personal agendas, which have no relation to the law, and disregard and empty the content of the laws. They use the excuse of a state of emergency to turn society into an anomic zone, free from the law, and destroy all private and public boundaries within it. In this situation, force is separated from the law. According to “Agamben,” legally speaking, the main purpose of a state of emergency is to establish a legal situation in which norms have influence and are enforceable, but are not enforced because they lack force. On the other hand, laws that do not hold value or credibility gain force from the law.

The order that its collapse leads to the declaration of social collapse in the “current sensitive moment” is undoubtedly nothing but the control of the market, business, and trade by the government and its partners; an order that is disrupted by the presence of people in the streets and the disruption of the current situation, and the destruction of networks of wealth, knowledge, and power, and with any threat, silences all laws that may show the course of democracy as a path of boredom.

But we should not be oblivious to the direct understanding of this point that the Islamic Republic has a suppressive nature and its political and economic order is discriminatory, and has never truly embraced democracy and the implementation of its constitutional law. In fact, in this government, exception is the rule, and its social situation is always critical and at risk of the nation’s attack on the foundations of the government. Its principle and foundation is not to ensure justice and democracy, but to maintain various forms of suppression. For this reason, the current sensitive period cannot absolve any responsibility or justify any lawlessness, and a government that has not embraced democracy and freedom cannot speak of suspending the law in a state of exception.

Political prisoner, especially young and nameless like Javad Rohi, is a tool for displaying the power of absolute domination. Therefore, the government does not insist on concealing its crimes. In such circumstances, when we are faced with a shameful torturer, it is pointless to talk about his responsibility towards the lives of prisoners and the obligations arising from domestic and international regulations. But the Islamic Republic system and its known and unknown agents must eventually realize that they will one day be held accountable and that day is not far away. They, who are entangled with the international community and have unavoidable relationships, must be held accountable for their crimes. It is also the right of the people of Iran and the world to demand explanations from this government about refugees and captives.

The Islamic Republic is tormenting prisoners to such an extent that many of them commit suicide after their release, many lose their lives in prison due to medication, many lose their physical and mental health, but the mechanisms for accountability and justice remain ineffective.

Depriving someone of their freedom comes with a commitment to preserving the health of the prisoner and adhering to legal and ethical standards. This commitment applies to all officials at every level and in every position, and it holds them accountable for their actions. Neither the claim of being a legal authority, nor the use of force, nor the circumstances can excuse the perpetrators from being held accountable. The issue of fundamental human rights and the unavoidable responsibility of prison guards is at stake. The right to the health of prisoners is emphasized in human rights documents and is reflected in domestic regulations, but in practice, it is not observed.

However, we must not overlook the fact that the people of Iran demand serious accountability for human rights from the international legal system, which has not been able to fulfill its inherent duties to hold the Islamic Republic accountable properly.

The Islamic Republic must answer to the people for all of these crimes that have inflicted painful and infectious wounds on the body of humanity one by one. It must explain for those moments filled with suffering that were imposed not only on Javad Rouhani’s spirit, but on the human spirit. This is a matter of humanity. It is a matter of human beings, civilization, solidarity, and the human rights solutions, and it cannot and should not be ignored. Not only are each of the elements involved in the oppressive government system responsible, but humanity, international organizations and responsible organizations are indebted to the people of Iran and to Javad Rouhani for those agonizing moments in which he lost his life bit by bit in despair and no savior came to his aid.