A/HRC/25/61 16. The charter currently fails to address laws and policies that discriminate against religious minorities, including the Baha’i, and insufficiently addresses discrimination against women, including their ability to pass their citizenship on to their children. It also fails to address the use of cruel, inhumane or degrading punishment, including flogging, hanging, stoning and amputation; it does not ban the execution of juveniles; and it fails to address concerns about the use of capital punishment, in particular for offences that do not meet the standards for most serious crimes under international law. 17. Several organizations and human rights defenders also recall that a number of laws, including the Constitution and the 2004 Law on Respecting Legitimate Freedoms and Protecting Citizens’ Rights, already guarantee the rights described in the charter, but that certain aspects of other laws and practices undermine their protection. B. Criminal procedure law 18. On 6 November 2013, the Guardian Council approved a new criminal procedure law, which has yet to come into force. The new law incorporates the 2004 Law on Respecting Legitimate Freedoms and Protecting Citizens’ Rights. From a rights perspective, the new law presents some notable improvements to the current law, which facilitated a variety of abuses. Nonetheless, the new law also maintains some key shortcomings. 19. The new law continues to provide for the detention of individuals throughout an initial investigation phase, during which security officials gather evidence against suspects. It requires the authorities to adhere to procedures designed to safeguard fair trial standards defined in the law of 2004.10 In order to prevent flight or to maintain “pubic order”, the law allows investigatory judges to extend pretrial detention, once charges have been laid within 24 hours, for serious offences, including for vaguely worded national security offences, for one month at a time and for up to two years or until trial.11 Detainees may appeal against the extension of detention within 10 days of its issuance. 20. The new law allows the access of defendants to a lawyer within the initial investigation phase, upon their request.12 Under the current criminal procedure, lawyers are prohibited access during the initial investigation. Furthermore, the investigatory judge must inform the accused of the right to a lawyer, and offer a court-appointed lawyer if the accused cannot afford one.13 When accused persons are charged with a national security or other serious offence, however, they can still be denied the right to counsel for one week. Security forces, with the agreement of an investigatory judge, may also deny a detainee’s communication with family and friends if there is “a need to do so”, which is not clearly defined.14 21. The law also expands the number of judges that preside over serious crimes in public criminal and revolutionary courts to five, with a quorum of three. In addition, the law expanded the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to hear appeals, including claims that serious procedural violations have invalidated verdicts. The law states, however, that 10 11 12 13 14 6 Code of Criminal Procedure. arts. 24 and 127. Ibid., art. 32. Ibid, arts. 48, 346-348. Ibid., art. 190. Ibid., art. 50.