notably in order to commute qisas into diya sentences (blood money). 8 These institutions
include a reconciliation commission, a working group tasked to support mediation with the
next of kin victim, conflict resolution council branches and the Women and Children and
Protection Office of the judiciary. 9
In 2016, Mr. Haddadi’s court-appointed lawyer filed a request to review Mr. Haddadi’s case
pursuant to Article 91 of the Islamic Penal Code (2013).10 Article 91 allows judges to
pronounce alternative sentences in circumstances where the juveniles “do not realize the
nature of the crime committed or its prohibition, or if there is uncertainty about their full
mental development, according to their age”.11 The Article further adds that “the court may
ask the opinion of forensic medicine or resort to any other method that it sees appropriate in
order to establish the full mental development”.12 In 2017, a number of special procedure
mandate holders described ongoing executions in the Islamic Republic of Iran as “conclusive
proof of the failure of the 2013 amendments to stop the execution of individuals sentenced to
death as children”.13 In 2019, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the
Islamic Republic of Iran found that the aforementioned assessment of the mental development
of 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”.14
The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran answered the 2016 Special Procedures’
communication and confirmed that Mr. Haddadi had been sentenced to qisas and 16 years
imprisonment, a verdict upheld by the Supreme Court. The Government added that following
the review requested under Article 91 of the Islamic Penal Code (2013), the department of
justice of the Fars Province established that Mr. Haddadi was aware and had knowledge of the
crime and its consequences; subsequently the death penalty was permitted by the court. It was
however reported that the forensic doctor assigned to the case of Mr. Haddadi confirmed that
the accused had not reached maturity at the time of the crime and arrest.15 The Government
further addressed the work of the reconciliation commission and the working group on
“prevention of life deprivation punishment”, a subset of the executive committee of defending
the rights of children and juveniles in the Supreme Court. However, the Government did not
mention whether these institutions engaged with the case of Mr. Haddadi.16
8
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, January 2019,
https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=A%2FHRC%2F40%2F67&Language=E&DeviceType=Desktop
9
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, January 2019,
https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=A%2FHRC%2F40%2F67&Language=E&DeviceType=Desktop
10
UN Special Procedures Communication IRN 18/2016,
https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=3194
11
Islamic Penal Code (2013), English translation, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/englishtranslation-of-books-i-ii-of-the-new-islamic-penal-code/
12
Islamic Penal Code (2013), English translation, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/englishtranslation-of-books-i-ii-of-the-new-islamic-penal-code/.
13
OHCHR News, www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21547&LangID=E
14
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, January 2019,
https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=A%2FHRC%2F40%2F67&Language=E&DeviceType=Desktop
15
Iran Human Rights, https://iranhr.net/en/articles/4392/
16
Reply of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the UN Special Procedures Communication IRN 18/2016,
https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadFile?gId=33292
2