Although the Islamic Republic of Iran adopted legislation further protecting children and
adolescents from violence in June 2020, the law does not challenge the aforementioned
provisions of the Islamic Penal Code (2013).7 The law also requires social workers from the
State Welfare Organisation to investigate the situation of children in “extreme danger” from
abuse.8 However, there is no readily available information as to the number of investigations
that have been carried out and whether or not they were adequately adjudicated.
Honor killings generally fall under the law of qisas (retribution in kind). However, in practice,
the family often refuses to file a complaint or pursue punishment for cases of honor killings.9 10
Even if the government intervenes, homicide prosecutions for crimes under qisas require a
complaint in order for the prosecution to pursue typical homicide sentences which will prosecute
the crime under the law of ta’zir (crimes for which fixed penalties are not provided under Islamic
law).11 In such cases, punitive sentences can be set much lower than they would be under the law
for non-familial adult offenders.12 Even when families of victims join cases as plaintiffs and the
perpetrators of violence are found guilty and sent to prison, the offenders are often released soon
afterwards or serve no prison term at all, because the family formally forgives them, resulting in
the retribution being legally settled.13 In effect, the murder of a child due to a father’s act of
domestic violence, including “honor killings,” receives a lesser punishment than a murder where
the victim and assailant are not related. The result is reduced accountability for those guilty of
filicide.
There are no readily available and official statistics or data on the prevalence of honour killings
in the Islamic Republic of Iran, nor on investigations and prosecutions carried for such crimes.
However, recent cases indicate that the practice still occurs in the country and light sentences for
perpetrators have been reported. 14
Despite the existence of several mechanisms that ostensibly accept complaints regarding
violations of citizens' rights, such as the Parliament’s Article 90 Commission (based on Article
90 of the Constitution, which offers a mechanism for citizens to file complaints against any of
the three branches of power) and the Oversight Bodies for the exercise of Citizenship Rights in
7
Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/06/23/iran-child-protection-law-positive-insufficient
Ibid.
9
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/gender-inequality-and-discrimination-the-case-of-iranianwomen/
10
Suuntaus Project, Finnish Immigration Service- Country Information Service, ‘Violence against women and honour-related
violence in Iran’, 26 June 2015, https://migri.fi/documents/5202425/5914056/61597_Suuntausraportti_VakivaltaIran_finalFINAL_kaannosversio_EN.pdf/04123eff-529a-457a-aa0d-d5218d046ffe
11
Penal Code, Book 3, arts. 301, 302. In the absence of a family member as plaintiff, the government can act in place of the
family member, but the prosecution then moves away from qisas charges and shifts to tazir charges, which is under the Islamic
Penal Code Book 5 (1997), including arts. 610, 612 and 616, carry much lighter sentences
12
Ibid
13
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, consultation with Iranian lawyer Hossein Raeesi (20 February 2015).
14
Radio Farda, https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iranian-father-s-light-sentence-for-honor-killing-rekindles-controversy-over-islamicpenal-code-/30808734.html
8
2