A/HRC/22/48 and fisad-fil-arz. In a report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/21/49), the Special Rapporteurs on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran and on the independence of judges and lawyers expressed concern over the death sentence imposed on Abdolreza Ghanbari for moharebeh for alleged links with the banned opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (p. 24). The death penalty was apparently upheld on appeal and his request for a pardon from the Amnesty and Clemency Commission was rejected at the end of February 2012. 19. There has been a dramatic spike in public executions in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Over 55 public executions, mainly for drug-related offences and rape, were carried out in 2012, up from 40 in 2011. These include the execution in public of five persons accused of rape, on 27 December 2012, in Yasuj.14 The executions reportedly usually took place in the early hours of the morning and were often attended by large crowds, including minors and relatives of the condemned. The authorities lifted a ban on photographing public execution which had been imposed in 2008. This method of executions is degrading and often exposes convicts and their family members to public contempt and hatred, and constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, which is prohibited by article 7 of the Covenant. 20. Both the Covenant and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which the Islamic Republic of Iran is a State party, prohibit the imposition of the death penalty for crimes committed by persons below 18 years of age. Furthermore, in 2010 the Islamic Republic of Iran also voluntarily accepted universal periodic review recommendations that urged ending juvenile executions in law and practice. During his visit to the country in August 2012, the Secretary-General encouraged the Government to take measures to abolish the death penalty, particularly in relation to juvenile offenders. 21. The Islamic Republic of Iran has taken measures to restrict death sentences imposed on minors by allowing judges greater discretion in the new Islamic Penal Code. Judicial authorities also encourage systematically the family of the victim and perpetrator to reach diyah (blood money) settlements to prevent executions. However, according to human rights groups, at least 143 juvenile offenders convicted for alleged crimes of rape and murder were on death row in 2011.15 On 23 November, Iranian media reported the sentencing to the death penalty of a juvenile named Mr. Farzad, after confessing to the murder of a 17-year-old boy.16 Furthermore, on 16 January 2013, Ali Naderi, a 21-year-old man, was reportedly executed for a crime that he allegedly committed when he was 17 years old. He was sentenced to death for his role in the murder of a woman. This was the first juvenile execution since September 2011. Women’s rights C. 22. While examining Iranian compliance with the Covenant in October 2011, the Human Rights Committee expressed concern about the continuing inequality of women with regard to marriage, family and inheritance matters, and recommended that the Government amend the Civil Code and the draft Family Protection Act to bring them in line with international human rights standards (CCPR/C/IRN/CO/3, para. 9). The SecretaryGeneral has repeatedly raised concerns relating to the protection of women’s rights, both in his reports to the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council as well as during his 14 15 16 See http://isna.ir/fa/news/91100704504/ (in Persian). Human Rights Watch, “Proposed Penal Code Deeply Flawed”. See www.mehrnews.com/fa/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=1750635 (in Persian). 7