E/CN.4/1993/26 page 65 Iran (Islamic Republic of) Information transmitted to the Government 276. By letter dated 27 October 1992 the Special Rapporteur communicated to the Government that he had received information according to which prisoners held for political reasons are usually tortured in the period immediately following their arrest, but may also be subjected to torture at any time during their imprisonment, both before and after trial. Torture and other forms of physical or psychological ill-treatment are allegedly applied not only to obtain information, but also to extract statements which are sometimes recorded on film. 277. Common methods of physical torture include suspension for long periods in contorted positions, burns from cigarettes and severe and repeated beating with cables or other instruments on the back and the soles of the feet. Sometimes, a blanket or cloth is stuffed into the victims' mouths to stop them screaming, making it hard to breathe properly. Usually the victims have been blindfolded, and strapped to a kind of bedstead or held down by guards sitting on their backs. Other arbitrary punishments reportedly include being kicked or punched, made to stand without moving for hours at a time, cancellation of family visits or reducing food. 278. It was also reported that the Government had failed to introduce minimum safeguards to prevent torture, including allowing prisoners regular access to relatives, lawyers and doctors, ensuring that complaints are properly investigated and bringing perpetrators to justice. The following individual cases were transmitted: (a) Hooshang Sabetizadeh was arrested after entering the country in July 1990. When his relatives visited him in Evin prison in March 1991 he bore marks of torture. His face, particularly around his eyes and lips, was bruised and swollen, two of his front teeth were broken and he could hardly speak. In October 1991 his relatives visited him in hospital but his physical condition was very poor, his feet were severely infected due to flogging by cable and he was unable to walk. He died two weeks after his release from prison, in March 1992; (b) Khalil Akhlaghi was reportedly arrested in November 1989 in the city of Shiraz by members of the security forces. Before being tried and sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment, he was held for 14 months in solitary confinement in the Shiraz prison, during which time he was subjected to torture such as severe beatings all over his body and in particular on the soles of his feet. As a result of intense slapping he lost all hearing in his right ear; (c) Ali Gaffari Hosseini was reportedly arrested at the Teheran airport in August 1990 and taken to an unknown place for interrogation where he was subjected to repeated beating, particularly in the region of his kidneys and on the soles of the feet. He also was suspended by the wrists and some of his toenails were forcibly removed.