The Iranian judiciary has issued a directive prohibiting the interrogation of suspects at security forces’ detention centres.

The Mehr News Agency reports that the head of the judiciary, Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, issued a directive on Tuesday February 26, saying: “The security forces must make arrangements to separate the interrogation process from detention centres; carrying out investigations and interrogations in detention centres is prohibited.”

The directive maintains that suspects can only be detained at the security forces’ detention centres with warrants issued by the judiciary, and they can only be held for a limited time. The announcement adds that the detentions centres have to be equipped with surveillance cameras to guard against violations.

The directive appears to be a reaction to the death of Sattar Beheshti, a blogger who died a few days after his arrest by the security forces.

Beheshti’s cellmates reported that he had been subjected to fierce abuse and torture and he was concerned for his life when he was being called back for further questioning.

Source: Radio Zamaneh