Iran's Judiciary Chief Orders Investigation into Ismail Bakhtiari's Alleged Torture

Sadegh Larijani, the head of Iran's judiciary, has instructed the Attorney General to form an independent committee to investigate the alleged torture of Ismail Bakhtiari, a representative of the workers of Haft Tapeh Sugarcane Company, and to publish the findings. Larijani issued this directive on Tuesday, January 7, during a meeting of senior judicial officials, calling for the committee to be sent to Khuzestan. Regarding the issue of torture, he stated that 'such matters are very important to us because the Islamic Republic has never condoned such violations, which we consider forbidden both religiously and legally.' Without mentioning Bakhtiari by name, Larijani noted that 'a worker may be guilty, but any unlawful treatment towards him is unacceptable.' He also referred to the 'possible misconduct of interrogators' in dealing with protesting workers from Haft Tapeh, suggesting that such misconduct should not be attributed to the entire organization. He added, 'Security and law enforcement agencies are also required to prevent violations by their personnel through inspectors and other oversight mechanisms, and it is inappropriate to blame an entire organization for the actions of one individual.' The senior judicial official emphasized that 'sometimes claims arise from a lack of knowledge about legal rights, or a prisoner may think that the prison environment should be like a hotel.' Ismail Bakhtiari, the representative of the Haft Tapeh workers, has detailed the torture he and Sepideh Ghalean, who was arrested with him, endured during their detention, demanding public accountability from the Minister of Intelligence in a televised debate. According to Bakhtiari, agents from the Ministry of Intelligence 'beat' him and Ghalean and subjected them to 'various types of vulgar sexual insults,' and their family conversations were 'monitored.' His statements have received significant attention on social media and Persian-language media, prompting the National Security Commission of Parliament to consider investigating these claims. Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, the head of this commission, stated that a meeting is scheduled for this Tuesday with relevant officials to discuss issues related to the Haft Tapeh workers and Bakhtiari's allegations. The judiciary and parliament are working to examine various aspects of this labor activist's case, while Farzaneh Zeylabi, Bakhtiari's lawyer, has claimed that her client is under pressure to retract his statements. Zeylabi added that Bakhtiari is being pressured by 'various individuals' to deny his claims, although she did not name these entities. The 'Independent Channel of Haft Tapeh Workers' also reported that Bakhtiari and his family members are facing 'ongoing and severe pressure from security forces' to deny the torture allegations. Meanwhile, Gholamreza Shariati, the governor of Khuzestan, has rejected Bakhtiari's claims, stating that the labor activist was not tortured. Shariati added, 'Any of the detained workers, after their release, can refer to the judiciary if they have any claims.' Gholamhosein Mohseni Ejei, the first deputy of the judiciary, also suggested that 'if Bakhtiari files a complaint, the prosecutor will intervene.' Torture of prisoners in the Islamic Republic is one of the most significant issues that Iranian and international human rights advocates have been investigating for years, calling for its elimination in any form in Iranian prisons. Over the past 40 years, numerous reports of torture in prisons or detention centers of the Islamic Republic have been published, and human rights defenders believe that torture has become a normalized practice in Iranian prisons. In some cases, officials initially denied the existence of torture of prisoners but later confirmed it and attempted to label one or more agents as 'miscreants' or 'rogue.'