A/HRC/28/26 Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, eight individuals below the age of 18 at the time of their offence were reportedly executed in 2014 (A/69/356, para. 7). 15. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and several special procedures mandate holders have frequently communicated their concerns to the Government on this issue. They stressed that any judgements imposing the death penalty on persons under the age of 18 and the implementation of such judgements were incompatible with the State’s international obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. On 26 June 2014, the High Commissioner publicly expressed concern at the persistent execution of juvenile offenders, and stressed that, regardless of the circumstances of the crime, the execution of juvenile offenders was clearly prohibited by international human rights law. 16. While not denying the execution of juveniles convicted under the age of 18, the Iranian authorities reported that the judiciary had shown a high degree of leniency and flexibility in juvenile cases, and had established a working group to help to prevent juvenile executions, including by encouraging the families of victims and perpetrators to reach a settlement, and offering financial aid (A/C.3/69/9, annex). On 11 November 2014, the Deputy Chief of the Judiciary for Cultural Affairs pointed out that, although persons below the age of 18 could not be executed in the Islamic Republic of Iran, if a person was convicted of murder, the execution would be carried out after the person turned 18.7 This stance runs counter to international human rights standards, which impose an absolute ban on the execution of persons who were under 18 at the time of their offence. 17. During its first universal periodic review, the Islamic Republic of Iran accepted a recommendation to consider the abolition of juvenile executions. 8 The Secretary-General renews his call to the Government to halt the execution of juvenile offenders and to undertake a special review of the cases of children on death row with a view to commuting or quashing their death sentences. B. Reprisals against activists cooperating with the United Nations 18. Allegations of reprisals against individuals because of their cooperation or for establishing contacts with the United Nations human rights mechanisms or representatives remain a cause for great concern. In 2014, special procedures mandate holders constantly raised cases of reprisals against individuals who had collaborated with the United Nations, particularly the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Of the 29 communications transmitted to the Iranian authorities from January to November 2014, four communications related to cases of acts of reprisal, double the number seen the previous year. In their comments on the present report, the Iranian authorities stated that no individual had been prosecuted because of their contact with United Nations human rights mechanisms. 19. On 2 June 2014, Saeed Shirzad, a human rights activist and member of the Society for Defending Street and Working Children, was reportedly arrested at his workplace by officials from the Ministry of Intelligence. He was allegedly held at the detention facility of the Ministry before being transferred to Evin prison in Tehran. He reportedly spent the first 7 8 6 Tasnim news, 11 November 2014 (available from www.tasnimnews.com/home/single/554662). With regard to the present report, the authorities stated that the new Islamic Penal Code provided more favourable treatment for juvenile offenders: in cases not involving qisas, article 89 of the Code commuted punitive measures for minors between 15 to 18 years to, for example, incarceration in a correction centre, a short prison term or a pecuniary fine.