A/HRC/31/26 Dehghani, all members of the Kurdish community, were executed on charges of moharebeh and corruption on Earth. The executions were carried out despite serious concerns about the fairness of their trials.7 The authorities asserted that these individuals were executed after having been sentenced to death on charges of membership in a terrorist group and carrying out armed attacks against military bases. 11. Furthermore, on 5 August 2015, the High Commissioner and a group of special procedure mandate holders separately expressed serious concern at the imposition of the death penalty on Mohammad Ali Taheri, the founder of a spiritual movement, writer and practitioner of alternative medicine theories used in the Islamic Republic of Iran and abroad. Mr. Taheri was arrested in May 2011 and sentenced to five years in prison for insulting Islamic sanctities. On 1 August 2015, the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced him to death on charges of corruption on Earth, while he was serving a five-year sentence. On 21 December 2015, the Supreme Court annulled the death sentence and referred the case back to branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court, which had handed down the sentence. In confirming the Supreme Court’s decision, the authorities asserted that Mr. Taheri had been convicted for establishing a diversionary cult, which caused deep harm to the members and their relatives. Shahram Ahmadi, a religious activist promoting Sunni belief by distributing books and leaflets, was arrested on 26 April 2009 and sentenced to death in early 2015 on charges relating to his alleged ties with the group that had assassinated Mohammad Sheikholeslam, an imam of Sanandaj. He was held in solitary confinement for 33 months and subjected to beatings, psychological attacks and exposure to extreme cold. Mr. Ahmadi was forced to sign a blank paper on which revolutionary guards later reportedly wrote a confession. During his trial in October 2012, neither Mr. Ahmadi nor his attorney was allowed to present his defence. Mr. Ahmadi had been imprisoned five months before Mr. Sheikholslam’s assassination. 12. The Secretary-General notes with concern that the practice of public executions continued, despite their dehumanizing, cruel, inhuman and degrading effect on the victims and on observers. At least 47 individuals were publicly executed in 2015. Despite statements to the contrary by the Government, photographs taken at the scene demonstrate that children are often present at these events. The authorities dispute this figure and argue that public executions are rare and applied as a dissuasive measure. The Government did not accept the recommendation to abolish public executions made during the second universal periodic review cycle.8 The Human Rights Committee also recommended that this practice be ended in its concluding observations on the third periodic report submitted by the Islamic Republic of Iran (CCPR/C/IRN/CO/3). 2. Execution of minors 13. On 16 October 2015, special procedure mandate holders expressed outrage at the executions of two juvenile offenders on 6 and 13 October.9 The Special Rapporteur on summary or arbitrary executions described these executions as unlawful killings by the State, comparing them to murders performed by individuals. Underlining that executing a juvenile offender, especially after a questionable trial, directly contravenes international human rights law, the Special Rapporteur urged the Government of the Islamic Republic of 7 8 9 4 See www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/03/iran-six-kurdish-sunnis-about-to-be-hanged/. See the universal data review database (www.upr-info.org/database). On 6 October 2015, Samad Zahabi was executed in secret, after being sentenced to death for the killing of a fellow shepherd when he was 17. On 13 October, Fatemeh Salbehi was hanged despite reported flaws in her trial and appeal process. Ms. Salbehi, twice a child bride, was accused of murdering her second husband when she was 17.