Some of the prisoners were jailed in the Kahrizak prison in southern Tehran, also known as 'Tehran's Guantanamo', which was closed down last month because it lacked the necessary standards for preserving detainees' rights.

Iranian police chief Esmaeil Ahmadi-Moqaddam Sunday confirmed physical abuse in the Kahrizak prison, saying 'there have been some violations in this centre and some of the officials there have not followed instructions'.

The police chief said the head of the detention centre was arrested and then dismissed and two of the centre's guards were also dismissed.

Also Iran's Prosecutor General, Ghorban-Ali Dorri-Najafabadi, confirmed physical abuses in the Kahrizak prison, terming them as 'indefensible' and demanding punishment for all those responsible for the prisoners' mistreating.