A/HRC/40/67 Following the adoption of the amendment, the judiciary was instructed to review the cases of those already sentenced to death for drug-related offences. The lack of transparency on death penalty cases has made it difficult to assess the review process, but in October 2018, the Deputy Chairman of the Islamic Consultative Assembly Judiciary Commission reportedly stated that the death sentences of 15,000 individuals had been commuted. 6 Concerns remain, however, about the availability of legal assistance to those eligible for review, the lack of opportunity to appeal the outcome of the review, and the retention of the mandatory death penalty for some drug offences. 7. Other concerns persist. According to article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the Islamic Republic of Iran has ratified, States parties that have not yet abolished the death penalty should only impose it for the “most serious crimes”, a term confined to crimes involving intentional killing.7 However, the Islamic Republic of Iran continues to apply the death penalty for numerous acts that do not entail intentional killing. Concerns were raised following the establishment of special courts in August 2018 to try “economic crimes” which carry the death penalty. 8. A further long-standing concern relates to the execution of individuals convicted of murder in the context of qisas (retribution in kind). In such cases, the application of absolute, equivalent retaliation in the form of the death penalty is available to the next of kin of the victim. Such executions accounted for nearly three quarters of reported executions in 2018. 8 As an alternative, the next of kin of the victim can pardon the defendant with or without accepting diya (compensation known as “blood money”). Qisas is an offence which entails a mandatory punishment. No consideration can be given to mitigating factors such as the offender’s age or character or the circumstances of the crime. 9. In 2006, the then Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions observed, inter alia, that while diya saved lives to the extent that it avoided executions, it could violate the guarantees of non-discrimination, because the request to pay diya discriminated against those who were not in a position to buy their freedom. 9 The Penal Code also stipulates that diya for murdering a woman is half that of a man. Furthermore, while Iranian law has been amended to provide the equal application of qisas punishments and diya for the murder of Muslims and constitutionally recognized religious minorities, this does not apply to non-recognized groups. Additionally, when a pardon in exchange for diya has not been granted, it leads to violations of the right to seek pardon or commutation from the State.10 10. Reports indicate that ethnic and religious minority groups constitute a disproportionately large percentage of persons executed or imprisoned. 11 Many are also on death row. Concerns have been raised, for example, about the situation of Hedayat Abdollapour, a Kurdish Iranian, whose death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court upon its second review in October 2018 amidst reports that he had been subjected to torture in detention and had been denied access to a lawyer of his choice. 11. The right to life has been violated by non-State actors. On 22 September 2018, an attack on a military parade in Ahvaz led to the death of at least 24 persons and injury to numerous others.12 Another attack in December 2018 in the city of Chabahar reportedly led to the death of two people and numerous injuries. 13 The Special Rapporteur expresses his deepest condolences to the victims and their families, and to the Government and people of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Special Rapporteur unreservedly condemns the attacks, and recalls the State’s obligation to hold the perpetrators accountable, in compliance with international human rights law, including the right to a fair trial. Following the Ahvaz attack, 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 See http://kerman.farsnews.com/news/13970725000810. See Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 36 (2018) on the right to life. See https://iranhr.net/en/articles/3514/. A/61/311, para. 60. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 6 (4). See https://ipa.united4iran.org/en/prisoner/. See Security Council press statement available at www.un.org/press/en/2018/sc13523.doc.htm. See www.irna.ir/en/News/83125141. 3