In a press release on Wednesday Amnesty International stated that Iranian authorities have failed to provide accountability for at least 72 deaths in custody since January 2010.

According to Amnesty there are credible reports that the deaths resulted from torture, other ill treatment or the lethal use of firearms and tear gas by officials.

Amnesty made the statement following news on Tuesday of yet another suspicious death in custody.

Heba Morayef, Middle east and North Africa regional director of Amnesty International commented: ‘The Iranian authorities’ systemic refusal to conduct any independent investigations into these deaths in custody is a grim reflection of the normalisation of the arbitrary deprivation of life by state authorities.’

The latest documented case concerns Yaser Mangouri, aged 31, whose death was reported to his family by ministry of intelligence officials in Urumieh, West Azerbaijan province on 8 September 2021.

Not a single official has  been held to account for the deaths in custody which, according to Amnesty, reflects Iran’s long-standing crisis of impunity. Allegations of torture and unlawful killings consistently go uninvestigated and unpunished.

Amnesty International has issued a list of the names of those who have died in custody along with their reported age and the date and location of death.

Investigative mechanism

Raha Bahreini, Iran researcher at Amnesty International said to Al Jazeera: ‘We share the serious concerns of the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran regarding the absence of domestic remedies  for gross human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran and echoes the latest call in his July 2021 report on the international community to fulfil its important role in ensuring accountability.

Amnesty International together with nine other human rights organizations have urged member states of the UN Human Rights Council to establish an investigative and accountability mechanism to collect, preserve and analyse evidence of the most serious crimes under international law committed in Iran to facilitate fair criminal proceedings.