(punishments fixed by God) or qisas (punishment or retribution in kind), which carry mandatory punishments such as death, is maintained at the age of “maturity” that is 9 lunar years for girls and 15 lunar years for boys. Reportedly, four convicted child offenders were executed in 2019 in the Islamic Republic of Iran.6 In qisas cases, the pardon or commutation of the sentence is based solely on the request of the victim or the victim’s guardian. 7 The accused is unable to request their own pardon or commutation, but there are a number institutions that can intervene to mediate cases of children sentenced with qisas, notably in order to commute qisas into diya sentences (blood money). These institutions include a reconciliation commission, a working group tasked to support mediation with the victim’s next of kin, conflict resolution council branches and the Women and Children and Protection Office of the Judiciary. 8 There is no readily available information indicating the number of cases concerning children that have been received, reviewed and adjudicated by these institutions. However, the Government of the Islamic of Iran noted that the State was not intervening in cases of qisas, which “is only possible on the basis of the request of the owners of the blood”. 9 Ultimately, if the next of kin of the victim does not grant pardon in exchange for diyah, the sentence must be executed, with no option for the accused, including children, to seek pardon or commutation from the State. Additionally, Article 91 of the 2013 Islamic Penal Code allows judges to issue 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”.10 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”.11 In 2017, a number of special procedure mandate holders described ongoing executions of child offenders 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”. 12 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 6 ECPM, Iran Human Rights, https://www.ecpm.org/wp-content/uploads/Rapport-iran-2020-gb-070420-WEB.pdf 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 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/en/A/HRC/40/67 10 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/ 11 See 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 See OHCHR News, www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21547&LangID=E 7 2

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