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 sentence and potential application of the death penalty against Ms. Razieh Ebrahimi
represents a violation of Articles 6(5) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
and 37(a) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Human Rights Committee has
further stipulated that the death penalty cannot be imposed if it cannot be proven, beyond
reasonable doubt, that the accused was older than 18 years old at the time of the offence.15
Additionally, the prohibition of imposing the death penalty on children is widely considered to
be jus cogens under international law. 16
Recommendation Status:
This recommendation has NOT been implemented.
14
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
15
UN Human Rights Committee (HRC), General Comment no.36, Article 6 (Right to Life), 3 September 2019, CCPR/C/GC/35,
available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5e5e75e04.html
16
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
3