CCPR/C/IRN/CO/3
should furthermore prohibit the use of public executions, as well as stoning as a
method of execution.
13.
The Committee is gravely concerned about the continued execution of minors and
the imposition of the death penalty for persons who were found to have committed a crime
while under 18 years of age, which is prohibited by article 6, paragraph 5, of the Covenant
(art. 6).
The State party should immediately end the execution of minors, and further
amend the draft juvenile crimes investigation act and the Bill of Islamic Criminal
Code with the aim of abolishing the death penalty for crimes committed under the age
of 18. The State party should also commute all existing death sentences for offenders
on death row who had committed a crime while under the age of 18.
14.
The Committee is deeply concerned at reports of the widespread use of torture and
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in detention facilities, particularly of those accused
of national security-related crimes or tried in Revolutionary Courts, which in some cases
have resulted in the death of the detainee. The Committee is also concerned that coerced
confessions have been used as the primary evidence to obtain convictions in court (art. 7).
The State party should ensure that an inquiry is opened in each case of alleged
torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in detention facilities, and that the
perpetrators of such acts are prosecuted and punished appropriately. It should ensure
that effective reparation, including adequate compensation, is granted to every victim.
The State party should also ensure that no one is coerced into testifying against
themselves or others or to confess guilt and that no such “confession” is accepted as
evidence in court, except against a person accused of torture or other ill-treatment as
evidence that the “confession” or other statement was made.
15.
The Committee is concerned that there has not been a full, impartial and
independent investigation into allegations of killings, torture and other ill-treatment during
and following the 12 June 2009 presidential elections, and that the high-level officials
responsible have not been held accountable (arts. 6 and 7).
The State party should urgently establish a full, impartial and independent
investigation into allegations of killings, torture and other ill-treatment during and
following the 12 June 2009 presidential elections, and prosecute those officials found
responsible.
16.
The Committee is concerned about the continued imposition of corporal punishment
by judicial and administrative authorities, in particular amputations and flogging for a range
of crimes, including theft, enmity against God (mohareb) and certain sexual acts. It is also
concerned that corporal punishment of children is lawful in the home, as a sentence of the
courts and in alternative care settings (art. 7).
The State party should amend the Penal Code to abolish the imposition of
corporal punishment by judicial and administrative authorities. The State party
should also explicitly prohibit all forms of corporal punishment in child-rearing and
education, including by repealing the legal defences for its use in article 1179 of the
Civil Code, articles 49 and 59 of the Penal Code and article 7 of the Law on the
Protection of Children.
17.
The Committee is concerned about reports of the use of general and blanket arrest
warrants, which do not contain the names of the accused and are not based on a judge’s
review of evidence (art. 9).
The State party should ensure that arrest warrants contain the names of the
accused and are based on a judge’s review of material evidence. It should also release
4