A/HRC/31/26 Iran to “immediately stop killing children”. 10 On 19 October, the Secretary-General stressed that international human rights law prohibited the death penalty for crimes committed by individuals below 18 years of age. On 25 November, according to a semi-official Iranian news outlet, Mr. Alireza, a juvenile offender, was reportedly executed in Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj. He had been sentenced to death for the murder of his friend on 30 October 2008. 11 These cases bring to four the number of confirmed juvenile executions in the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2015.12 14. In their comments on the present report, the authorities stated that juvenile cases were tried in special courts, except for qisas (retribution in kind) cases that entailed the death penalty and were tried in the presence of five judges in provincial penal courts. Since qisas was a private right of the victim’s family which could not be overruled by the judiciary, the authorities were obliged only to process legal proceedings in the case. Furthermore, the authorities stated that great efforts were made to prevent juvenile executions, including by encouraging the families of victims and perpetrators to reach a settlement. 15. The Secretary-General is particularly concerned about the denial of due process and fair trial protections to minors. Courts consistently accept confessions obtained under torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment as evidentiary bases for conviction. For instance, Hamid Ahmadi, who was 16 when he was involved in a fight with fatal consequences, was detained and interrogated by police without an attorney or guardian being present, despite his status as a minor. After prolonged interrogation, he confessed to having stabbed a man during the fight. He later informed the court that he had confessed to the murder out of fear of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment when officials threatened to return him over to the Police Investigation Unit. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death on the basis of this retracted confession, without his claims of torture being investigated or consideration being given to the fact that that the confession was made by a minor. B. Torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 16. The Secretary-General remains concerned about the persistent practice of corporal punishment, such as amputation of limbs, blinding and flogging. The Islamic Penal Code, which came into force in June 2013, recognizes corporal punishment, including limb amputations,13 flogging14 and stoning (A/HRC/25/26). Qisas can include corporal punishment for crimes against the body or crimes against the person. The judiciary has frequently applied these punishments, which the Human Rights Committee considers as incompatible with article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.15 17. At least 21 cases of corporal punishment were reported in 2015, including 3 cases of blinding, 5 cases of amputation of limbs, 1 stoning to death and 12 cases of flogging in 10 11 12 13 14 15 See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=16611&LangID=E. See http://ana.ir/news/67795 (in Persian). A total of 73 juvenile offenders were reportedly executed between 2005 and 2015. See Amnesty International, “Iran: growing up on death row: the death penalty and juvenile offenders in Iran”, 26 January 2016. Articles 234 and 278 of the Islamic Penal Code provide for limb amputations for theft and moharebeh. Articles 234 and 262 of the Islamic Penal Code provide for flogging for insulting the prophet and Islam, sodomy, consumption of alcohol and public moral offences. General comment No. 20 (1992) on the prohibition of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 5