UN experts deplore alleged torture of inmates in Iran

          
          UN experts deplore alleged torture of inmates inIran Reuterscom http://www.retaers.com'arfiolePrint?aitole ld—USLD344596
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          UN experts deplore alleged torture of
          inmates in Iran
          Thu Aug 13, 2009 11:36am EDT
          * Allegations that hundreds mistreated to obtain confessions
          * UN envoys say evidence under torture not admissible
          By Stephanie Nebehay
          GENEVA, Aug 13 (Reuters) - U.N. human rights experts said on Thursday
          hundreds of Iranians accused of taking part in post-election protests have
          been tortured to obtain confessions according to detainees and people
          close to them.
          Any evidence extracted by mistreatment should not be admitted at their
          trials, as it would violate international law, the United Nations investigators
          said in a joint statement.
          Iran has charged dozens of people with spying and aiding a Western plot to
          overthrow its system of clerical rule following June's presidential election.
          “The trials seem to be show trials ... I'm afraid people will be convicted on
          the basis of forced confessions,” Manfred Nowak, U.N. special rapporteur
          on torture, told Reuters.
          Moderates say the poll was rigged to secure the re-election of President
          Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Iranian authorities say the vote was the “healthiest”
          since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
          Nowak said he had brought more than 300 cases of alleged torture and
          ill-treatment to the attention of Iranian authorities.
          “Primarily they are allegations of beatings, electric shock, physical and
          psychological pressure primarily aimed at extracting confessions about
          anti-government behaviour,” the Austrian law professor said in a telephone
          interview.
          The allegations came from ex-detainees, as well as relatives and lawyers of
          people still being held, he said.
          Most involved alleged torture at Evin prison in Tehran or Kahrizak detention
          centre, outside the capital, Nowak said.
          “But they also concerned police stations and all kinds of security officials
          that are alleged to be involved in torture,” he said. “They are consistent and
          plausible enough to trigger an obligation for the government to investigate
          and report back to me. So far I have not received any answer.”
          Iranian authorities have acknowledged some protesters were tortured at
          Kahrizak detention centre, where many of those arrested were taken, and
          said its director had been jailed. At least three people died in custody there.
          GOVERNMENT MUST INVESTI GATE
          Nowak also said he had reiterated his long-standing request to visit Iran so
          as to investigate torture allegations himself.
          “No judicial system can consider as valid a confession obtained as a result
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          UN experts deplore alleged torture of inmates inIran Reuterscom http://www.rei sers .com'arfiolePrint?aitole ld—USW344596
          of harsh interrogations or under torture,” he said in the joint statement by
          the independent experts.
          Mehdi Karoubi, a moderate defeated candidate, said on Sunday that some
          protesters, both men and women, were raped in prison. The abuse
          allegations were rejected by authorities, including the speaker of parliament
          and Tehran's police chief.
          No foreign media have been allowed to cover the trials and the U.N.
          investigators said it was not clear whether the defendants had adequate
          legal counsel.
          Many detainees remain in incommunicado detention without being charged
          and are denied family visits, legal assistance or medical treatment, they
          said.
          “Reports of people who have died in custody continue to be received, and
          their families are given false or contradictory information regarding the
          cause of their deaths,” they said. (Editing by Jon Hemming)
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