 Nonetheless human rights groups and observers have complained that torture is frequently used on political prisoners in Iran.In a study of torture in Iran published in 1999, Iranian-born political historian Ervand Abrahamian included Iran along with "Stalinist Russia, Maoist China, and early modern Europe" of the Inquisition and witch hunts, as societies that "can be considered to be in a league of their own" in the systematic use of torture.Torture techniques used in the Islamic Republic include