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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