A/RES/66/175 judiciary prohibiting public executions, and secret group executions, as well as reports of executions undertaken without the notification of the prisoner’s family members or legal counsel; (c) The continuing imposition and carrying out of the death penalty against minors and persons who at the time of their offence were under the age of 18, in violation of the obligations of the Islamic Republic of Iran under the Convention on the Rights of the Child 6 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;2 (d) The imposition of the death penalty for crimes that lack a precise and explicit definition, including moharabeh (enmity against God), or for crimes that do not qualify as the most serious crimes, in violation of international law; (e) The practice of suspension strangulation as a method of execution, and the fact that persons in prison continue to face sentences of execution by stoning, notwithstanding a circular from the former head of the judiciary prohibiting stoning; (f) The continuing and systematic targeting of human rights defenders, including, inter alia, lawyers, journalists and other media representatives, Internet providers and bloggers, who endure intimidation, interrogation, arrest and arbitrary detention as a result of their activities, noting, in particular, the continued harassment and detention of staff members of the Defenders of Human Rights Centre; (g) Pervasive gender inequality and violence against women, including sexual violence, a continued crackdown on women’s human rights defenders, arrests, violent repression and sentencing of women exercising their right to peaceful assembly and increased discrimination against women and girls in law and in practice; (h) Continuing discrimination and other human rights violations, at times amounting to persecution, against persons belonging to ethnic, linguistic or other minorities, including, inter alia, Arabs, Azeris, Baluchis and Kurds and their defenders, noting, in particular, reports of the violent suppression and detention of ethnic Arabs and Azeris, the violent repression of environmental protests in Azeri territory and the high rate of executions of persons belonging to minority groups; (i) Increased persecution and human rights violations against persons belonging to recognized religious minorities, including, inter alia, Christians, Jews, Sufis, Sunni Muslims and Zoroastrians and their defenders, noting, in particular, the widespread arrest and detention of Sufis and evangelical Christians and reports of harsh sentences against Christian pastors; (j) Increased persecution and human rights violations against persons belonging to unrecognized religious minorities, particularly members of the Baha’i faith, including escalating attacks on Baha’is and their defenders, including in State-sponsored media, a significant increase in the number of Baha’is arrested and detained, including the targeted attack on the Baha’i educational institution, the reinstatement of twenty-year sentences against seven Baha’i leaders following deeply flawed legal proceedings, and renewed measures to deny Baha’is employment in the public and private sectors; _______________ 6 2 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1577, No. 27531.