A/HRC/34/40 Government continues to justify its use, including for the alleged purpose of deterring drugrelated offences (see A/70/352, para. 12). Thirty-three such executions were reportedly conducted in 2016. As in several past instances, children were present as spectators during some of those public executions. In July, the public execution of a prisoner in Sonqor County (Kermanshah Province) took place in front of a crowd of people, including children. In September, a prisoner was hanged in public at a sports stadium in the city of Neyriz, with at least one child watching the execution. In January 2016, the Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed serious concern about the impact on children of the continued practice of public executions. 15. The Secretary-General remains concerned about a number of cases of the death penalty that have a political dimension. Several individuals were reportedly executed in political cases and for non-violent economic crimes during the second half of 2016, following proceedings that reportedly did not comply with international norms regarding fair trial and due process provided for in article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the Islamic Republic of Iran is a party. In August for instance, Mohammad Abdollahi, an alleged Kurdish militant, was executed at Darya, the central prison in Urmia. Mr. Abdollahi was charged solely on the basis of an accusation that he was a “supporter of a Kurdish opposition group” and was sentenced to death for moharebeh (enmity against God), although he reportedly never committed any armed or violent acts.6 The execution of 20 people belonging to the Kurdish minority could also be considered an execution with a political dimension. 16. In the light of these concerns, the Secretary-General reiterates his predecessor’s call to the Iranian authorities to abolish and/or restrict the use of the death penalty in law and in practice. Execution of juvenile offenders 17. International human rights instruments ratified by the Islamic Republic of Iran impose an absolute ban on the execution of persons who were under 18 at the time of their offence, regardless of the circumstances and nature of the crime committed. Nevertheless, sentencing of children to death is still allowed under the 2013 Islamic Penal Code and no progress towards implementing the repeated recommendations of the High Commissioner, special procedure mandate holders and, most recently, the Committee on the Rights of the Child has been observed. The minimum age of criminal responsibility remains 9 lunar years for girls and 15 lunar years for boys, well below juvenile justice standards. 7 18. Despite assurances by the Iranian authorities that the judiciary is endeavouring to prevent juvenile executions (see A/71/374, para. 19), at least five young individuals who were below the age of 18 at the time of their alleged offence were executed in 2016. Between 80 and 160 individuals convicted as children were reportedly on death row as of December 2016. Some of them, such as Alireza Tajiki, have reportedly spent 10 years or more awaiting execution. According to some non-governmental sources, the figure might be much higher. 19. In May 2016, Mehdi Rajai was reportedly executed along with 11 other individuals for a homicide he allegedly committed when he was 16 years old. In July, Hassan Afshar, aged 19, was hanged in Arak prison (Markazi Province), after his conviction in 2015 for allegedly raping another teenager. Hassan Afshar was sentenced to death only two months after his arrest, despite a commitment by the office of the head of the judiciary that his case would be reviewed. He was refused legal assistance and his family was reportedly not notified of his execution. In his most recent report, the Secretary-General’s predecessor emphasized that up to 60 per cent of executions were reportedly taking place without any prior announcement and, in many cases, without the family being informed (see A/71/374, para. 14). Same-sex anal conduct being punished with the death penalty, partners are 6 7 4 See https://iranhr.net/en/articles/2609/. See general comment No. 10 (2007) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on children’s rights in juvenile justice, para. 30.