 The government of Iran is criticized both for restrictions and punishments that follow the Islamic Republic's constitution and law, and for actions that do not, such as the torture, rape, and killing of political prisoners, and the beatings and killings of dissidents and other civilians.While the monarchy under the rule of the shahs had a generally abysmal human rights record according to most Western watchdog organizations, the current Islamic Republic does not have a positive reputation either, with its human rights record under the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad considered to have "deteriorated markedly," according to Human Rights Watch.Following the 2009 election protests there were reports of killing of demonstrators, the torture, rape and killing of detained protesters, and the arrest and publicized mass trials of dozens of prominent opposition figures in which defendants "read confessions that bore every sign of being coerced."