the accused at the time of the offence was “arbitrary and inconsistent, and at the sole discretion of the judge, who can choose whether to seek medical advice or not”.13 In its 2019 National Report to the Universal Periodic Review, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran gave examples of protections for children under its revised criminal laws. These include “considering special provisions for differentiating treatment” and “establishing of system of gradual criminal liability”, “using opportunity-creating criminal responses and arranging new legal institutions such as suspension of prosecution, postponement of sentence and suspension of punishment at different stages of the trial”. Such instances may suggest that alternative punishments to imprisonment for children may be considered in certain situations. However, Iranian law does not specifically ensure that detention is used as a last resort and for the shortest possible period of time. In cases of crimes of hudud and qisas, juvenile defendants are subjected to the same legal framework as adult offenders and therefore may be sentenced for crimes with mandatory punishments, which include imprisonment. The Islamic Penal Code, as revised in 2013, has removed some life imprisonment provisions for children, but the punishment has been retained for crimes such as moharabeh and theft as a third offense.14 There is no readily available information that might indicate the number of children held in detention in the Islamic Republic of Iran. However, NGO reports have shown a pattern of cases of arrests and detention of children that suggest that detention is not considered as a last resort in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Amnesty International reported the arrest and detention of children during and in the aftermath of the November 2019 protests, some of them as young as 10 years old.15 The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran stated that the child justice system allows “the possibility of repeated reconsideration of verdicts and court decisions after the issuance of a ruling.” However, the Government does not mention if such review is made on a regular basis and whether it is done with a view to withdrawing the sentence of detention. There is no readily available information that might indicate the number of cases where the sentence of detention was withdrawn after reconsideration. Recommendation Status: This recommendation has been PARTIALLY implemented. 13 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, 2019, https://documents-ddsny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G19/021/61/PDF/G1902161.pdf?OpenElement 14 Islamic Penal Code, 2013, Articles 278 and 375. 15 Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1328912020ENGLISH.PDF 3