(July 18, 2013) -- The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC) is pleased to release the first comprehensive English translation of Book Five of the Islamic Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran. 
 
 Book Five is the only part of the Penal Code that has been adopted permanently and unlike the rest of the Penal Code is not subject to experimental periods. Passed on May 22, 1996, Book Five deals with ta’zir crimes and deterrent punishments, crimes against national security, crimes against property and crimes against people. Book Five also deals with theft, fraud, forgery, insult and a wide range of other offenses. 
 
 Although the Penal Code was amended in January 2012, and the new version subsequently adopted in 2013, Book Five was not subject to the revision. Therefore it remains unchanged from the previous version and this text is what is in force today. 
 
 Chapter One- Crimes against the national and foreign security of the State 
 
 Chapter Two- Insulting sacred religious values and criminal attempt on national authorities 
 
 Chapter Three- Attempt on the lives of foreign diplomatic officials 
 
 Chapter Four- Producing and distributing fake coins 
 
 Chapter Five- Forging and counterfeiting 
 
 Chapter Six- Removing or breaking a seal and stealing documents from governmental places 
 
 Chapter Seven- Escape of prisoners and concealment of offenders 
 
 Chapter Eight- Impersonation of officials and offices 
 
 Chapter Nine- Destruction of historical and cultural assets 
 
 Chapter Ten- Offenses of government officials and agents 
 
 Chapter Eleven- Bribery, Usury and Fraud 
 
 Chapter Twelve- Refusing to carry out legal duties 
 
 Chapter Thirteen- Offenses of civil servants against government 
 
 Chapter Fourteen- Defying state agents 
 
 Chapter Fifteen- Insulting other individuals 
 
 Chapter Sixteen- Conspiracy and collusion to commit a crime 
 
 Chapter Seventeen- Crimes against people and children 
 
 Chapter Eighteen- Crimes against public prudency and morality 
 
 Chapter Nineteen- Crimes against family rights and responsibilities 
 
 Chapter Twenty- Perjury and revealing secrets 
 
 Chapter Twenty One- Theft and stealing other people’s property 
 
 Chapter Twenty Two- Threatening and coercing 
 
 Chapter Twenty Three- Bankruptcy 
 
 Chapter Twenty Four- Breach of trust 
 
 Chapter Twenty Five- Arson and destruction of property and animals 
 
 Chapter Twenty Six- Violating and trespassing other people’s houses and estates 
 
 Chapter Twenty Seven- Libel and Insult and Dishonoring 
 
 Chapter Twenty Eight- Public consumption of alcoholic beverages and gambling and tramping 
 
 Chapter Twenty Nine- Traffic Crimes 
 
 Incorporating all amendments up to January 2012 
 
 Adopted by the Legal Affairs Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly on Tuesday 30/07/1991 
 
 Book Five- Ta’zir and Deterring Punishments 
 
 Chapter One- Crimes against the national and foreign security of the State 
 
 Article 498 – Anyone, with any ideology, who establishes or directs a group, society, or branch, inside or outside the country, with any name or title, that constitutes more than two individuals and aims to perturb the security of the country, if not considered as mohareb, shall be sentenced to two to ten years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 499- Anyone who joins, as a member, any of the groups, societies, or branches aforementioned in article 498, shall be sentenced to three months to five years’ imprisonment, unless it is proved that he had been unaware of its aims. 
 
 Article 500- Anyone who engages in any type of propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran or in support of opposition groups and associations, shall be sentenced to three months to one year of imprisonment. 
 
 Article 501- Anyone who, knowingly and intentionally, provides maps or secrets or documents and decisions regarding the national or international policies of the State to those who are not authorized to have access, or who informs them about their content in a way that constitutes espionage, taking into consideration the circumstances and stages [of the crime], shall be sentenced to one to ten years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 502- Anyone who commits one of the espionage crimes inside Iran in favor of a foreign State and against another foreign State, if damages the national security [of Iran] shall be sentenced to one to five years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 503- Anyone who enters [political or military or security] places with the intent to steal or draw maps or gather information about political or military or security secrets, and also those who are arrested while drawing maps or filming or taking pictures from military bastions or prohibited places, shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 504- Anyone who effectively encourages combatants or those in military forces to rebel, escape, surrender, or disobey military orders, with the intention to overthrow the government or to defeat national forces against the enemy, shall be considered as mohareb; otherwise [if he does not possess the intention] if his acts are effective he shall be sentenced to two to ten years, and if not, to six months to three years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 505- Anyone who, with the intention to disrupt national security, gathers information through any means under the cover of State authorities or government officials, if they intend to provide them to others shall be sentenced to two to ten years’ imprisonment [if successful], and otherwise to one to five years’ imprisonment [if unsuccessful]. 
 
 Article 506- If, due to their negligence and disregarding security protocols, government officials who are responsible for classified security and intelligence affairs and have received the required training reveal information to enemies, they shall be sentenced to one to six months’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 507- Anyone who is a member of corrupt groups or among those who act against national security, provided that he is not in a leading position and before being prosecuted, reports the plot and names of those engaged in the conspiracy and corruption to the officials, or cooperates effectively with the officials after he is prosecuted, shall be exempted from punishment; and if he has personally committed another crime, he shall be only sentenced for that crime. 
 
 Article 508- Anyone who cooperates by any means with foreign States against the Islamic Republic of Iran, if not considered as mohareb, shall be sentenced to one to ten years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 509- Anyone who during wartime commits one of the crimes against national and foreign security of the State mentioned in this chapter, shall be sentenced to the highest punishment prescribed for the same crime. 
 
 Article 510- Anyone who, with the intent to disrupt national security or aid the enemy, recognizes and hides, or assists in hiding, spies who have a mission to gather information or cause damage to the country, shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Note- Anyone who, without spying or hiding spies, identifies and attracts some people by any means and introduces them to enemy States or foreign countries for espionage purposes against the national security [of the Islamic Republic of Iran] shall be sentenced to six months to two years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 511- Anyone who, with the intent to disrupt national security and disturb public opinion, threatens to plant bombs in an airplane, ship, and/or other public means of transportation, or claims that the aforementioned means of transportation have been rigged with bomb(s), in addition to compensation for damages caused to the government and people, shall be sentenced to six months to two years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 512- Anyone who, with the intent to disrupt national security, induces or encourages people to war with one another and slaughter each other, regardless of whether or not [such actions] cause murder and ravage, shall be sentenced to one to five years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Note- Where it can be proven that the accused repented [for their actions] before being caught by the State, articles (508) and (509) and (512) are not applicable. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter Two- Insulting sacred religious values and criminal attempt on national authorities 
 
 Article 513- Anyone who insults the sacred values of Islam or any of the Great Prophets or [twelve] Shi’ite Imams or the Holy Fatima, if considered as Saab ul-nabi [as having committed actions warranting the hadd punishment for insulting the Prophet], shall be executed; otherwise, they shall be sentenced to one to five years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 514- Anyone who, by any means, insults Imam Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, and/or the Supreme Leader shall be sentenced to six months to two years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 515- Anyone who makes an attempt on the lives of the Supreme Leader or the Heads of Powers [of the Executive, Judiciary and Legislature] or the Grand Ayatollahs, if not considered as mohareb, shall be sentenced to three to ten years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Chapter Three- Attempt on the lives of foreign diplomatic officials 
 
 
 
 Article 516- Anyone who makes an attempt on the life of a foreign Head of State, or its Diplomatic Representative, in the jurisdiction of Iran, shall be sentenced to the same punishment mentioned in article (515), subject to the mutual treatment by the same State towards Iran; but, if a lighter punishment is prescribed, the same punishment shall be imposed. 
 
 Article 517- Anyone who publically insults a foreign Head of State, or its Diplomatic Representative, who enter the territory of Iran, shall be sentenced to one month imprisonment, subject to the mutual treatment by the same State towards Iran. 
 
 Note- The application of the articles of this chapter is subject to the request of the relevant State or its diplomatic representative, or the victim or his guardian. The Prosecution shall be stopped if the complaint is withdrawn. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter Four- Producing and distributing fake coins 
 
 Article 518- Anyone who produces, or deliberately imports into the country, or buys or sells any kind of counterfeit domestic or foreign gold or silver coin, such as coins from Iran’s previous governments, or the Lira or other exchangeable currencies, or distributes any fake coins shall be sentenced to one to ten years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 519- Anyone who, with the intention of deception, detracts from the weight of Iranian or foreign gold or silver coins by any means such as scraping, cutting and the like, or knowingly and deliberately engages in the distribution of such coins, or imports them into the country, shall be sentenced to one to three years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 520- Anyone who produces any kind of counterfeit domestic or foreign current coins other than gold or silver, or, knowingly and deliberately, imports them into the country, or engages in the distribution of such coins, or buys or sells them, shall be sentenced to one to three years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 521- When the individuals who commit the crimes mentioned in articles (518) and (519) and (520) inform the authorities before the crime is discovered, or facilitate the arrest of others by their confession while the prosecution is carried out, or effectively aid and guide the government authorities, by proposal of Director of the Judicial District and agreement of the court, or at the discretion of the court, their punishment shall be duly mitigated, and if appropriate they shall be exempted from imprisonment; unless it is proved that they repented [for the crime] prior to their arrest, in which case they shall be exempted from all said punishments. 
 
 Article 522- In addition to the punishments mentioned in articles (518) and (519) and (520), the property acquired as a result of the commission of the said offences shall be confiscated. 
 
 Chapter Five- Forging and counterfeiting 
 
 Article 523- Forging and counterfeiting are defined as producing a writing or document or producing an official or non-official persons’ stamp or signature, scratching or tampering or adding or erasing or generating or crossing out or changing the date in comparison to the actual date or enclosing a writing to another writing or using someone else’s stamp without their permission, and the like, with the intention of deception. 
 
 Article 524- Anyone who forges the orders or signature or stamp or handwriting of the Supreme Leader or the Heads of Powers [of the Executive, Judiciary and Legislature] in respect to their official position, or uses [the aforementioned] with knowledge of the forgery and counterfeit, shall be sentenced to three to fifteen years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 525- Anyone who forges one of the following or uses or imports them into the country while being aware of the forgery and counterfeit, in addition to compensation for damages, shall be sentenced to one to ten years imprisonment. 
 
 1- Orders or signature or stamp of the First Deputy of the President of the State, or Ministers, or stamp or signature of the Members of the Guardian Council or Members of Parliament or Council of Experts or Judges or any one of the chairpersons or civil servants and officials in respect to their official position. 
 
 2- Seal or stamp or emblem of one of the governmental companies or organizations or departments or Islamic revolutionary bodies. 
 
 3- Verdicts of courts or documents or bills issued by the National Treasury. 
 
 4- Seal or mark used for determining the purity of Gold and silver. 
 
 5- Domestic or foreign currencies or bank bills such as accepted bills of exchange by banks or checks issued by banks and other types of binding bank instruments. 
 
 Note- Anyone who, deliberately and without holding the required documents and official domestic and foreign permission, and with the intent to inspire doubts in the quality of products and services, uses the title and emblem of national or international standards shall be sentenced to the maximum punishment prescribed in this article. 
 
 Article 526- Anyone who, with the intent to disrupt the banking system or financial or economic situation or to disrupt the political and social system and security [of the country], forges domestic or foreign currencies or bank bills such as accepted bills of exchange by banks or checks issued by banks and other types of binding bank instruments and documents or bills issued by the National Treasury, or imports them into the country or uses them with the knowledge that they are fake, if he is not considered as mofsed or mohareb, shall be sentenced to five to twenty years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 527- Anyone who forges certificates of studying or graduation or transcripts of universities and higher education organizations inside or outside the country or certificates of evaluation of foreign degrees, or uses them with the knowledge that they are fake, in addition to compensation for damages, shall be sentenced to one to three years’ imprisonment. If the perpetrator is an employee of Ministries or those organizations and institutes that belong to the government or municipalities or Islamic revolutionary bodies, or if by any means takes part in the forgery or in using the fake documents, then he shall be sentenced to the maximum punishment. 
 
 Article 528- Anyone who forges the stamp or seal of any non-governmental organizations or public bodies such as municipalities, or uses them with the knowledge that they are fake, in addition to compensation of the damages, shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 529- Anyone who forges the stamp or seal of any non-governmental company established according to law or enterprise, or uses them with the knowledge that they are fake, in addition to compensation for damages, shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 530- Anyone who acquires the seal or stamp of the organizations or companies or enterprises referred to in the articles above, and abuses them in a way that damages their rights and interests, or causes their abuse, in addition to compensation for damages, shall be sentenced to two months to two years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 531- If anyone who has committed one of the crimes referred to in the articles above informs the government [of the crime] before their prosecution and exposes other perpetrators, if any, or cooperates in arresting them after the prosecution is started, their punishment shall be mitigated or they shall exempted from punishment respectively. 
 
 Article 532- Any civil servant and government official who, when carrying out their duties, tampers with orders and writings and documents and certificates and books and other types of official writings and documents (for instance if they generate a signature or stamp or make changes in a signature or stamp or to the content or add a word or change people’s names), in addition to disciplinary punishments and compensation of the damages, shall be sentenced to one to five years’ imprisonment or a fine of six to thirty million Rials. 
 
 Article 533- If individuals who are not civil servants or government officials, commit any of the crimes referred to in the previous article, in addition to compensation of the damages, they shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment or a fine of three to eighteen million Rials. 
 
 Article 534- If any civil servant of government departments and judicial bodies and anyone responsible for public services, commits forgery of documents in respect to their duties, including in cases where they change the topic or content of those documents, or tamper with written or oral statements of official authorities or the stamp or wording of the parties or present something void as valid or vice versa or something which is not admitted as admitted, in addition to disciplinary punishments and compensation of the damages, shall be sentenced to one to five years’ imprisonment or a fine of six to thirty million Rials. 
 
 Article 535- Anyone who uses the forged documents referred to in articles (532) and (533) and (534) with the knowledge that they are fake, in addition to compensation of the damages, shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment or a fine of three to eighteen million Rials. 
 
 Article 536- Anyone who forges non-official documents or uses them with the knowledge that they are fake, in addition to compensation of the damages, shall be sentenced to six months to two years’ imprisonment or a fine of three to twelve million Rials. 
 
 Article 537- If taking pictures of ID cards or personal identity documents and governmental and public documents and the like, causes confusion with the originals, they shall be marked with a stamp or mark to show that it is a duplicate copy or picture; otherwise, it shall be considered as a forgery and the producers and users of such documents who knowingly and deliberately use them as originals, in addition to compensation of the damages, shall be sentenced to six months to two years’ imprisonment or a fine of three to twelve million Rials. 
 
 Article 538- Anyone who, whether personally or through someone else, forges a medical certificate with the intent to acquire exemption from public or military service or in order to submit to the court shall be sentenced to six months to one year’s imprisonment or a fine of three to six million Rials. 
 
 Article 539- When a medical doctor issues a false certificate to exempt someone from public or military service or in order to submit to judicial bodies, he shall be sentenced to six months to two years’ imprisonment or a fine of three to twelve million Rials. And when such certificate is used to acquire money, in addition to taking the money back and confiscating the money as a fine, he shall be sentenced to the punishment prescribed for being the recipient of a bribe. 
 
 Article 540- In the cases of other false certificates which cause damage to a third party or the National Treasury, the offender shall be sentenced to up to 74 lashes or a fine of two hundred thousand to two million Rials. 
 
 Article 541- Anyone other than the main applicant who sits any exams including entrance exams of universities and higher education institutes, teacher’s universities and training colleges, exams for sending students abroad to study, or internal or final exams of the aforementioned organizations or exams of high schools, secondary schools, technical schools, etc, the offender and applicant, in addition to disciplinary punishments, shall be sentenced to a fine of two hundred to one million Rials. 
 
 Article 542- The punishment for attempting to forge and counterfeit referred to in this chapter shall be the minimum punishment prescribed for the same crime. 
 
 Chapter Six- Removing or breaking a seal and stealing documents from governmental places 
 
 
 
 Article 543- When a place, or anything, is sealed in accordance with the order of competent officials, and someone knowingly and deliberately breaks or removes the seal, or commits an act that is considered as removing or breaking the seal, he shall be sentenced to three months to two years’ imprisonment. 
 
 If the keeper commits the [abovementioned] crime, he shall be sentenced to one to two years’ imprisonment. In case the crime is committed as a result of the keeper’s negligence, he shall be sentenced to one month to six months’ imprisonment or up to 74 lashes. 
 
 Article 544- When the writings or documents or booklets or notes that are recorded in official registers or kept in official places or entrusted to officials responsible for keeping them, are, wholly or in part, stolen or damaged or unlawfully destroyed, the bookkeeper and the clerk responsible for recording and keeping the aforementioned documents, as well as other individuals whose negligence resulted in the commission of the crime, shall be sentenced to six months to two years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 545- The offenders of the crimes mentioned in the above article shall be sentenced to three to six months’ imprisonment; and if the keeper or trustee commits one of the abovementioned crimes he shall be sentenced to three to ten years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 546- When the offender forcibly removes or breaks the seal or commits an act that is considered as removing or breaking the seal, or steals or destroys the writing or documents, he shall be sentenced to the abovementioned punishments accordingly. This punishment does not interfere with the punishment of [other] crimes resulting from the use of force and severity. 
 
 Chapter Seven- Escape of prisoners and concealment of offenders 
 
 Article 547- Any prisoner who escapes from a prison or detention center shall be sentenced to 74 lashes or three to six months’ imprisonment; and if he has broken or damaged the prison’s gate, in addition to compensation of the damages, he shall be sentenced to both punishments. 
 
 Note- Prisoners who are on furlough in accordance with the regulations of prisons, but, without a reasonable excuse, do not return to the prison at the ordered time, shall be regarded as fugitives and sentenced to the abovementioned punishment. 
 
 Article 548- When an accused person or a prisoner escapes as a result of recklessness or negligence of the officer who was responsible for guarding or escorting him, the abovementioned officer shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment or a fine of three to eighteen million Rials. 
 
 Article 549- When an officer who is responsible for guarding or escorting a prisoner or detainee aids or facilitates or colludes in the escape [of the prisoner], he shall be sentenced according to the following: 
 
 A - If the detainee is accused of a crime that is punishable by execution, stoning or crucifixion or if he is a prisoner convicted to these punishments, [the offending official] shall be sentenced to three to ten years’ imprisonment; and if the prisoner is convicted to ten years’ imprisonment or more, or if the detainee is accused of a crime punishable by more than ten years’ imprisonment, he shall be sentenced to one to five years’ imprisonment; and in cases other than the abovementioned, he shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment. 
 
 B - If the prisoner is convicted to qisas or the detainee is accused of a crime punishable by qisas the individual responsible for his escape is obliged to turn him in, otherwise he shall be imprisoned until [the prisoner] is turned in. If the accused person is tried and acquitted in absentia, or if the homicide is determined as quasi-deliberate or accidental, the individual responsible for escape shall be sentenced to the punishment mentioned in paragraph A; and if the fugitive dies, or if it becomes impossible to turn him in, in cases where [the fugitive] is convicted to qisas, the individual responsible for his escape shall pay the diya to the blood owners of the victim. 
 
 C - If the accused or convict person who is escaped is convicted [or accused] of a financial crime or diya, the individual responsible for escape, in addition to the punishment mentioned in paragraph A, shall pay the relevant diya or debt. 
 
 Article 550- Any civil servants or officers who are ordered to arrest an individual and act recklessly and negligently shall be sentenced to a fine of one hundred to five hundred Rials; and if the recklessness and negligence was intended to aid the escape of the prisoner and resulted in his escape, in addition to the aforementioned fine, shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 551- If the individual responsible for escape is not one of the officers mentioned in article 549, and deliberately aids the escape of persons imprisoned or detained under law, he shall be sentenced according to the following: 
 
 A - If the prisoner is sentenced to execution, stoning or crucifixion, the individual responsible for the escape shall be sentenced to one to three years’ imprisonment; and if the prisoner is accused of a crime punishable by execution, stoning or crucifixion, he shall be sentenced to six months to two years’ imprisonment; and in cases other than the abovementioned, he shall be sentenced to three months to one year of imprisonment. 
 
 B - If the prisoner is sentenced to qisas, the individual responsible for the escape is obliged to turn him in otherwise he shall be imprisoned until [the prisoner] is turned in. If the fugitive dies, or if it becomes impossible to turn him in, the individual responsible for his escape shall pay the diya to the blood owners of the victim. 
 
 Article 552- Anyone who arms a prisoner or detainee with a gun in order to aid [the prisoner’s] escape shall be sentenced to two to five years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 553- Anyone who hides, or aids the escape of, a fugitive of the law or an accused person whose arrest is ordered shall be sentenced according to the following: 
 
 When the fugitive is sentenced to execution, stoning or crucifixion or qisas or amputation of limb, the individual responsible for the escape shall be sentenced to one to three years’ imprisonment; and if the fugitive is sentenced to life imprisonment or accused of a crime punishable by execution or crucifixion, he shall be sentenced to six months to two years’ imprisonment; and in cases other than the abovementioned, he shall be sentenced to one month to one year of imprisonment. 
 
 Note- If it is proved in a court of law that the individual responsible for the escape or concealment of the fugitive truly believes in his innocence, he shall be exempted from the punishment. 
 
 Article 554- Anyone who becomes aware of a crime and aids the offender to escape from trial and conviction, for instance by harboring him in a place, or concealing the evidence of the crime, or presenting fake evidence in order to acquit the offender, shall be sentenced accordingly to one to three years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Note- In the cases mentioned in article 553 and this article, if the offender is amongst the first-degree relatives of the accused person, the punishment shall not exceed half of the prescribed punishment. 
 
 Chapter Eight- Impersonation of officials and offices 
 
 
 
 Article 555- Anyone who, without an official position or permission from the government, interferes with or introduces himself as holding official governmental, military and police offices, shall be sentenced to six months to two years’ imprisonment; and if he has forged a document in order to interfere or introduce himself in the abovementioned offices, he shall additionally be sentenced to the punishment prescribed for forgery. 
 
 Article 556- Anyone who, publically and without permission, uses official uniforms of the military or police forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, or badges or medallions or other state grants, without, or with little, changes that cause confusion, if his act is not subject to a harsher punishment under another law, shall be sentenced to three months to one year’s imprisonment or a fine of one million and five hundred thousand Rials to six million Rials. And if he has taken advantage of his illegal act, he shall be sentenced to both punishments. 
 
 Note- Using the abovementioned uniforms and objects in theatrical arts shall not be subject to this article. 
 
 Article 557- Anyone who, publically and without permission, uses the official uniforms of foreign officers, or badges or medallions, or other grants of foreign states, in Iran, subject to mutual treatment [by the foreign state], or if the act disrupts the public order, shall be subject to the article above. 
 
 Chapter Nine- Destruction of historical and cultural assets 
 
 Article 558- Anyone who damages whole or part of any cultural, historical or religious buildings, places and sites which are listed as national heritage, or any decorations, attachments, facilities, objects and instruments and drawings and pictures installed or located in these places which independently hold cultural, historical, or religious features, in addition to compensation of damages, shall be sentenced to one to ten years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 559- Anyone who steals objects and instruments and also materials and pieces of cultural and historical assets, from museums or galleries, or historical and religious sites and other places protected or supervised by the government, or buys or conceals the aforementioned objects while being aware that they are stolen, if he is not punishable by the hadd punishment for stealing, in addition to its restitution, shall be sentenced to one to five years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 560- Anyone who, without permission from Iran’s Cultural Heritage Organization, or by violating the regulations adopted by this organization, proceeds to any operation in the bounds of cultural and historical assets mentioned in this article that makes their foundations unsteady, or as a result of such operations the said assets and buildings are damaged or destroyed, in addition to elimination of the operation’s effects and compensation of the damages, shall be sentenced to one to three years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 561- Any effort to take cultural and historical assets out of the country, even if unsuccessful, shall be considered as trafficking and the offender, in addition to restitution of the assets, shall be sentenced to one to three years’ imprisonment and a fine that is double the value of the assets. 
 
 Note- It is the responsibility of the Iran’s Cultural Heritage Organization to determine the cultural and historical nature [of the assets]. 
 
 Article 562- Any type of excavation and digging with the intent to find historical and cultural assets is prohibited and the offender shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment and confiscation of the discovered objects in favor of the Cultural Heritage Organization, and the excavation equipments and tools in favor of the government. If the excavation has taken place in historical sites and places that are listed as national heritage, or in holy shrines or religious places, in addition to confiscation of the discovered objects and the excavation equipments and tools, the offender shall be sentenced to the maximum punishment provided. 
 
 Note 1 - Anyone who puts his hands, by chance, on the historical and cultural assets mentioned in this article, and does not surrender them in accordance with the regulations of Cultural Heritage Organization, shall be sentenced to confiscation of the discovered assets. 
 
 Note 2 - The purchase and sale of historical and cultural assets that are found during illegal excavations is prohibited, and in addition to confiscation of the aforementioned cultural assets, the buyer and seller shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment. If the aforementioned assets, under any title, and whether directly or indirectly, are sold to foreign nationals, the offender shall be sentenced to the maximum punishment provided. 
 
 Article 563- Anyone who transgresses historical and cultural lands and hills and sites that are listed as a national heritage and do not have a private owner, shall be sentenced to six months to two years’ imprisonment, provided that the Cultural Heritage Organization had previously indicated and marked the boundaries and limits of these places. 
 
 Article 564- Anyone who, without permission of the Cultural Heritage Organization and against its adopted regulations, restores or repairs or reconstructs or extends the buildings or decorations of historical and cultural places which are listed as national heritage, shall be sentenced to six months to two years’ imprisonment and compensation of the damages. 
 
 Article 565- Anyone who, in violation of the provisions of the Law of Protection of National Heritage, conveys historical and cultural real-estate that is listed as national heritage, while having knowledge that they are listed, shall be sentenced to three to one year’s imprisonment. 
 
 Article 566- Anyone who, without permission of the Cultural Heritage Organization and contrary to what is appropriate for the property, changes the use of religious, cultural and historical buildings, places and sites that are listed as national heritage, in addition to elimination of the offense’s effects and compensation of the damages, shall be sentenced to three months to one year’s imprisonment. 
 
 Article 566 bis (added on 16/06/2009)- Anyone who makes counterfeit models of cultural and historical assets, whether Iranian or foreign assets, claiming it as original, or introduces, carries or keeps it, or buys it while being aware that it is fake, with the intent to offer, smuggle or sell the asset, shall be sentenced to ninety one days to six months imprisonment and a fine of equal to half the value of the original asset according to the expert report from Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts, and Tourism Organization. 
 
 Note 1 - A “counterfeit model” is an object which is made in the contemporary era, and in terms of drawings, pictures, form, texture, size, and weight is similar to original cultural and historical assets, or is claimed to be the original cultural and historical asset when there is no such original and there is no sign on the asset from the creator or the Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts, and Tourism Organization, that distinguishes it from the original. 
 
 Note 2 - If there is no original for the counterfeit object, its value, if any, shall be assessed by the experts of the Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts, and Tourism Organization. 
 
 Note 3 - The discovered items referred to in this article shall be confiscated in favor of the Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts, and Tourism Organization. This provision shall be extended to those items that are seized before this law comes to force. 
 
 Article 567- With regard to the crimes referred to in this chapter, the Cultural Heritage Organization or other governmental departments shall be regarded as a complainant or private plaintiff. 
 
 Article 568- With regard to the crimes referred to in this chapter that are committed by legal entities, any of the directors or officials who have made the orders, shall be sentenced to the prescribed punishments. 
 
 Note- Cultural and historical assets obtained from the crimes referred to in this chapter, shall be confiscated under the supervision of the Cultural Heritage Organization; and in all cases where the assets, tools and equipments are ordered to be seized, it shall be seized in favor of the Cultural Heritage Organization. 
 
 Article 569- In all the cases in this chapter, if the damaged asset is private property and its owner was unaware that it had been listed as a national heritage, he shall be exempted from the abovementioned punishments. 
 
 Chapter Ten- Offenses of government officials and agents 
 
 Article 570 (as amended on 1/1/2003)- Any official and agent associated with State agencies and institutions, who unlawfully strips members of the public of their personal freedom or deprives them from their rights provided in the IRI Constitution, shall be sentenced to two months to three years’ imprisonment, in addition to dismissal from the service and prohibition of employment in state offices for one to five years. 
 
 Article 571- When the acts that violated the IRI Constitution are carried out as a result of a false signature of a Minister or State agent, the offender, and those who applied it knowingly, shall be sentenced to three to ten years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 572- When an individual is imprisoned against the law, and he has lodged a complaint against his unlawful imprisonment to the law enforcement or police officers, but they have failed to deal with his complaint and are unable to prove that they have taken the required steps and transferred his complaint to the relevant authorities, they shall be sentenced to permanent dismissal from the same office and shall be prohibited from taking government employment for three to five years. 
 
 Article 573- If officials and officers responsible for detention centers and prisons receive anyone as a prisoner without the required warrant issued by competent authorities, they shall be sentenced to two months to two years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 574- If officials and officers responsible for detention centers and prisons refuse to hand over a prisoner to competent judicial authorities, or refuse to submit their registers to the said authorities, or refuse or prevent the prisoners’ complaints from reaching the relevant authorities, they shall be subject to the previous article; unless they prove that they had been ordered to do so by their superior commander, in which case he who has issued the order shall be sentenced to the aforementioned punishment. 
 
 Article 575- When judicial authorities or other relevant officials unlawfully order the arrest or detention or prosecution of someone, they shall be sentenced to permanent dismissal from judicial offices and shall be prohibited from taking government employment for five years. 
 
 Article 576- If any official and civil servant and governmental and municipal agent, no matter at which level or office he serves, abuses his authority and refuses to obey written state orders or statutes or decisions or orders of judicial authorities or any other orders issued by lawful officials, he shall be sentenced to dismissal from civil service for one to five years. 
 
 Article 577- If civil servants and agents including Governors of Provinces, Governors of Divisions, Governors of Sections, or their deputies, and police officers, unless in arbitration cases, interfere with cases that fall under the authority of judicial officials, and refuse to stop the interference despite the objection of party/parties to the case or the objection of judicial authorities, they shall be sentenced to two months to three years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 578- Any civil servant or judicial or non-judicial agent who corporally mistreats and abuses an accused person in order to force him to confess, in addition to qisas and diya, shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment; and if it is done under someone’s order, only the person who has issued the order shall be sentenced to the aforementioned imprisonment; and if the accused person dies as a result of the abuses, the principal to the murder shall be sentenced to the punishment provided for a murderer, and the person who has issued the order shall be sentenced to the punishment provided for the person who has ordered a murder. 
 
 Article 579- If a civil servant punishes a convicted person harsher than what was ordered in the verdict or punishes him to what is not ordered in the verdict, he shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment; and if the act is carried out pursuant to someone else’s order, only the person who has issued the order shall be sentenced to the prescribed punishment; and if the act is punishable by qisas or diya the main principal to the crime shall be sentenced accordingly; and if the act consists of other crimes, the principal to the crime and the person who has issued the order shall be sentenced accordingly to the relevant punishment. 
 
 Article 580- Any civil servant and judicial or non-judicial official or anyone who holds a state duty enters someone’s house against the law and without the owner’s permission and consent shall be sentenced to one month to one year’s imprisonment, unless he proves that he has acted on his superior’s order and he has had no choice but to obey his orders, in which case the prescribed punishment shall be given to the person who has issued the order; and if he commits or causes any other crimes he shall also be sentenced to the relevant punishment provided for that crime; and if the offense is committed in the night, the principal to the crime and the person who has issued the order shall be sentenced to the maximum punishment provided. 
 
 Article 581- Any state official and civil servant who, abusing his authority, uses force to buy someone’s property, or unlawfully take possession of someone’s right, or force an owner of a property to sell it to a third person, in addition to restitution of the property or right or its monetary value, shall be sentenced to one year to three years’ imprisonment or a fine of six to eighteen million Rials. 
 
 Article 582- If any state official and civil servant, in cases other than those permitted by law, opens or seizes or destroys or inspects or records or intercepts letter or telegraph or telephone communications of people, or discloses their contents without their owners’ permission, shall be sentenced to one year to three years’ imprisonment or a fine of six to eighteen million Rials. 
 
 Article 583- If any state official and civil servant or armed forces or the like, without any order from competent authorities [and] in cases other than those in which the law permits arrest or detention of people, arrests or detains an individual and forcibly conceals him in a place, he shall be sentenced to one year to three years’ imprisonment or a fine of six to eighteen million Rials. 
 
 Article 584- Anyone who knowingly prepares a place for committing the crime mentioned in previous article, and therefore aids the principal to the crime, shall be sentenced to three months to one year’s imprisonment or a fine of one million and five hundred to six million Rials. 
 
 Article 585- If the principal, or the accessory, to the crime [mentioned in the previous article], releases the detainee or takes required measures to release him, provided that he has not detained him for more than five days, he shall be sentenced to two to six months’ imprisonment instead. 
 
 Article 586- When the offender, in order to commit the crime mentioned in article 583, uses false names or titles or impersonates state agents or uses their badge or uniform or shows a fake warrant, in addition to the punishment provided in the same article, shall be sentenced to the punishment provided for forgery or deception. 
 
 Article 587- If the perpetrator of the crimes mentioned in the previous articles threatens the detainee or prisoner to death or physically abuses and torture him, in addition to qisas or diya, he shall be sentenced to one to five years’ imprisonment and will be prohibited from taking public services. 
 
 Chapter Eleven- Bribery, Usury and Fraud 
 
 Article 588- If any arbitrator and inspector and expert, whether appointed by the court or parties to a legal case, makes a decision or produces a report in favor of either party in return for a bribe, shall be sentenced to six months to two years’ imprisonment or a fine of three to twelve million Rials, and as a punishment for the briber, the amount that was paid shall be confiscated in favor of the government. 
 
 Article 589- If judges of courts, due to receiving a bribe, give a harsher punishment than that provided by law, he shall be sentenced to the same excessive punishment he has given, in addition to the punishment provided for receiving a bribe. 
 
 Article 590- If a bribe is not in the form of cash, but is [in the form of] goods or property conveyed, whether directly or indirectly, to judicial or administrative civil servants, free of charge or quite cheaper than the usual price, or prima facie at its usual price but in fact sold for much cheaper, or if goods or property is bought from civil servants, directly or indirectly, at a quite higher price, the said civil servants shall be considered as bribee and the other party as briber. 
 
 Article 591- When it is proved that a briber had to pay a bribe to preserve his legal rights, he shall be exempted from criminal prosecution and the money or property he has paid shall be returned to him. 
 
 Article 592- Anyone who, knowingly and deliberately, and whether directly or indirectly, pays money or a property or a bill of payment or delivery of a property, in order to carry out or refrain from carrying out what is a duty of the officials mentioned in article 3 of the law of Aggravating [the punishments of] Bribery, Embezzlement, and Fraud adopted on 6/12/1997 by the Expediency Discernment Council, he shall be considered as a briber, and, in addition to confiscation of the bribed money or property, he shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment or up to 74 lashes. 
 
 Note- If the briber has been moztar [i.e. desperate and left with no other option] or reports the bribery or lodges a complaint, he shall be exempted from the imprisonment sentence and the bribed money shall be restituted to him. 
 
 Article 593- Anyone who, knowingly and deliberately, facilitates the commission of bribery including through negotiation, persuasion, transferring the money or property or bill of payment, shall be sentenced to the punishment provided for the briber. 
 
 Article 594- The punishment for attempted bribery shall be the minimum punishment provided in each case. 
 
 Article 595- Any type of agreement between two or more people under any title such as sale, borrow, settlement, etc that conveys a property or goods in return of a property of the same type and amount and with an extra condition, or receives money more than the amount paid, shall be regarded as usury and is a crime. The offenders including usurer, the individual who has paid the usury, and the broker between them, in addition to restitution of the extra money to the owner, shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment and up to 74 lashes and also a fine equal to the value of the aforementioned money or property. 
 
 Note 1- If the owner of the property [subject to usury] is unknown, it shall be regarded as property without a known owner and shall be given to the vali-ye Faqih (i.e. Supreme Leader). 
 
 Note 2- When it is proved that the person who has paid the usury has been moztar [i.e. desperate and left with no other option] to pay the extra money or property, he shall be exempted from the punishment provided in this article. 
 
 Note 3- When the abovementioned contract is concluded between a father and his son or a husband and his wife, or if a Muslim receives usury from a Kafir [non-believer], it shall not fall under this article. 
 
 Article 596- Anyone who, abusing the weakness and desires or personal needs of incapacitated persons, obtains a writing or document whether commercial or non-commercial including, a bill of exchange, promissory note, check, draft, receipt, settlement receipt against his benefit, or any documents that binds him or clears the receiver, or someone else, from obligations, in addition to compensation of the damages, shall be sentenced to six month to two years’ imprisonment and a fine of one million to ten million Rials; and if the offender is the natural guardian of the [incapacitated] person, or the executor of [his natural guardian’s] will, or appointed as his guardian by court, then, in addition to compensation of the damages, he shall be sentenced to three to seven years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Chapter Twelve- Refusing to carry out legal duties 
 
 
 
 Article 597- Any judicial authority to whom a complaint or petition is referred according to the law, but, despite the fact that he is legally obliged to deal with the complaint, on the basis of any justification even silence or brevity or contradictory nature of the law, fails to accept or deal with the case, or postpones the issuance of the verdict against the law, or acts contrary to the explicit provision of law, on the first occasion shall be sentenced to six months to one year imprisonment and on the [second] occurrence will be permanently dismissed from judicial office; and in any case shall be also sentenced to compensation of damages. 
 
 Chapter Thirteen- Offenses of civil servants against government 
 
 Article 598- Any civil servant and employee of a governmental department and organization or council or municipality and company or organization or revolutionary body and also foundation and organization that is supervised by vali-ye faqih [i.e. Supreme Leader] and the Supreme Audit Court and organizations that are financed by the government or holders of judicial rank and basically all the members and staff of the three branches of power and also armed forces and public servants, whether official or unofficial, who abuses any fund or credit or drafts or shares or other monetary instruments or other property that belongs to the abovementioned organizations or other persons that are entrusted to them on the basis of their duty, without any intention to transfer their ownership to himself or a third person, shall be regarded as an unlawful possessor and, in addition to compensation of the damages and payment of the payable rent, shall be sentenced to up to 74 lashes; and if he has benefitted [from the offense], in addition to the aforementioned punishment, he shall be sentenced to a fine equal to the amount of benefit. It is also the same case when [anybody], due to his negligence or failure, causes damage to public funds or consumes it for the purposes that no budget is provided by law, or for a different purpose [other than stipulated by law] or in excess of the allocated budget. 
 
 Article 599- Anyone who is responsible for the conclusion of contracts or constructing anything or ordering or supervising its construction for any one of the departments and organizations referred to in article 598, and who takes advantage of it for himself or someone else through a deception regarding the amount or features or excessive price or any deception in the construction, in addition to compensation of the damages, shall be sentenced to six months to five years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 600- Any civil servant or employee or agent who is responsible for the assessment, determination and collection of any fee in favor of the government, violates the law and collects or orders to collect a fee more than that required by law, shall be sentenced to two months to one year’s imprisonment. The punishment provided in this article is also applicable to officials and employees of municipalities; and in any case what is received in contravention of the law shall be returned to the right owner. 
 
 Article 601- Any civil servant that on the basis of their duty employs or hires people or transports some materials and charges the government’s account for whole or part of their salaries or fees, but fails to pay the fees, shall be sentenced to temporary suspension from three months to three years; and the same punishment is applicable in the case of civil servants that employed some people as unpaid labors but charged the government’s account and took their salaries for themselves; and in any case the received salary shall be returned to the right owner. 
 
 Article 602- Any civil servant that on the basis of their duties has been entitled to employ some people and charges the government’s account more than the number he has actually employed, or if he includes his personal servants among the civil servants and pays their salary from the government’s account, he shall be sentenced to 74 lashes and restitution of the amount he has charged the government’s account. 
 
 Article 603- If any civil servant and employee and individual who is in managerial positions in the Ministries and departments and organizations referred to in article 598, whether directly or indirectly, takes any advantage for himself or someone else through any contract or agreement or any other arrangements with other people or their representatives or branches, under any title such as commission, fee, brokerage or bonus, whether inside or outside the country, or if without any mission from his respective organization buys or constructs anything on its behalf, or takes any benefit for himself or someone else when paying the fees that he is responsible for their payment or when settling an account, shall be sentenced to restitution of twice as much as the benefit gained from this act; and if his act causes any change in the amount or quality of the subject of the contract or any increase in its price, he shall be sentenced to six months to five years’ imprisonment or a fine of three to thirty million Rials. 
 
 Article 604- Any civil servant, whether judicial or administrative, who destroys or conceals documents and papers that are entrusted to them or given to them on the basis of their duties, or hands them over to an unauthorized person, in addition to compensation of the damages, shall be sentenced to three months to one year’s imprisonment. 
 
 Article 605- Any servant of the departments and organizations referred to in article 598, who, intentionally and unlawfully, makes an statement or action against one of the parties shall be sentenced to up to three months’ imprisonment or a fine up to one million and five hundred thousand Rials and compensation of the damages. 
 
 Article 606- Any chairperson or director or authority of the organizations referred to in article 598 who becomes aware of a bribery or embezzlement or illegal possession or fraud or the crimes mentioned in articles 599 and 603, in the organizations under their supervision, and fails to report the offense to competent judicial or administrative bodies, in addition to imprisonment for six months to two years, shall be sentenced to temporary suspension for six months to two years. 
 
 Chapter Fourteen- Defying state agents 
 
 Article 607- Any form of attack or resistance carried out knowingly against state agents while they are performing their duties shall be regarded as defiance and is punishable according to the following: 
 
 1- If the defiant shows his gun in order to threaten, six months to two years’ imprisonment 
 
 2- If the defiant touches and holds his gun, one to three years’ imprisonment 
 
 3- In all other cases three months to one year of imprisonment. 
 
 Note- If the defiant, while defying, commits any other crime, he shall be sentenced to the punishment provided for both crimes. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter Fifteen- Insulting other individuals 
 
 Article 609- Anyone who insults any of the Heads of three powers [of the Executive, Judiciary and Legislature] or Vice-Presidents or Ministers or Members of Parliament or Members of the Council of Experts [for Leadership] or Members of the Guardian Council or judges or Members of the Audit Court or civil servants of Ministries and governmental organizations and companies and municipalities while they are performing their duties, or [if the (offender) insults them] in connection with their duties, shall be sentenced to 74 lashes or a fine of fifty thousand to one million Rials. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chapter Sixteen- Conspiracy and collusion to commit a crime 
 
 Article 610- When two or more individuals collude and conspire to commit crimes against the national or foreign security of the country or prepare the facilities to commit the aforementioned crimes, unless they are regarded as mohareb, shall be sentenced to two to five years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 611- When two or more individuals collude and conspire to commit crimes against people’s honor or lives, and they have prepared the requirements [of the crime] but do not succeed against their will, they shall be sentenced to six months to three years. 
 
 Chapter Seventeen- Crimes against people and children 
 
 
 
 Article 612- Anyone who commits a murder and where there is no complainant, or there is a complainant but he has forgiven and withdrawn his application for qisas, or if qisas is not executed for any reason, if his act disrupts the public order and safety of the society or it is thought that it emboldens the offender or others [to commit murder again], the court shall sentence the offender to three to ten years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Note- In this case, an accessory to the crime shall be sentenced to one to five years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 613- When anyone attempts a murder but does not succeed against his will, he shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ ta’zir imprisonment. 
 
 Article 614- Anyone who commits an assault and battery against someone else that results in damaging or breaking or disabling a victim’s limb or causes him a permanent illness or defect or loss of a sense or ability or loss of mind, in cases where qisas is not possible, if his act disrupts public order and the safety of the society or it is thought that it emboldens the offender or others [to commit assault again], he shall be sentenced to two to five years’ imprisonment; and if the victim applies for it, shall be sentenced to diya as well. 
 
 Note- If the injury does not result in the abovementioned defects, and the means of committing the assault is a gun or knife or the like, the offender shall be sentenced to three months to one year of imprisonment. 
 
 Article 615- When a group of people fight with each other, each participant in the fight shall be sentenced according to the following: 
 
 1- If the fight results in murder, one to three years’ imprisonment. 
 
 2- If it results in loss of a limb, six months to three years’ imprisonment. 
 
 3- If it results in assault and battery, three months to one year of imprisonment. 
 
 Note 1- If a person’s act is considered to be self-defense, then this article shall not be applicable. 
 
 Note 2- The abovementioned punishments do not interfere with qisas or diya provisions. 
 
 Article 616- If a manslaughter is committed as a result of negligence or recklessness of the offender or caused by an act for which the offender lacks the required skills, or because of disregard for the regulations, the offender shall be sentenced to one to three years’ imprisonment and also payment of diya in cases in which the uliya-ye dam [owners of blood money] apply for, unless it is a case of absolute negligence. 
 
 Article 617- Anyone who resorts to a knife or any other weapon to flaunt his strength or to disturb or blackmail or threaten people or in scuffles with someone, if not regarded as mohareb, shall be sentenced to six months to two years’ imprisonment and up to 74 lashes. 
 
 Article 618- Anyone who disrupts the order and public peace or prevents people from their business by crying out and creating a row and outrageous behavior or by assaulting other people shall be sentenced to three months to one year of imprisonment and up to 74 lashes. 
 
 Article 619- Anyone who assaults or disturbs children or women in public places or roads, or insults them with outrageous language and behaviors, shall be sentenced to two to six months’ imprisonment and up to 74 lashes. 
 
 Article 620- When the crimes referred to in articles 616 and 617 and 618 are committed by a group of people and as a result of a previous collusion, each one of the offenders shall be sentenced to the maximum punishment provided. 
 
 Article 621- Anyone who, whether personally or through someone else, forcefully or by resorting to threat or deception or any other means, abducts or conceals someone in order to blackmail or take revenge or for any reason, shall be sentenced to five to fifteen years’ imprisonment. If the victim is less than fifteen years old or if the abduction is carried out with a vehicle or if the victim is physically or sexually abused, the offender shall be sentenced to the maximum punishment provided; and if he has committed any other crimes he shall be sentenced to the relevant punishments as well. 
 
 Note- Attempted abduction is punishable by three to five years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 622- Anyone who, knowingly and deliberately, batters or abuses a pregnant woman and causes her to miscarriage, in addition to payment of diya or qisas, shall be sentenced to one to three years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 623- Anyone who causes the miscarriage of a pregnant woman by giving her drugs or other means shall be sentenced to six months to one year of imprisonment, and if knowingly and deliberately guides a pregnant woman to use drugs or other means to abort her baby shall be sentenced to three to six months’ imprisonment, unless it is proved that it was necessary to save the mother’s life; in any case the diya shall be paid according to the relevant provisions. 
 
 Article 624- If a doctor or midwife or pharmacist or those who act as doctor or midwife or surgeon or pharmacist provide the tools for abortion or perform the abortion, they shall be sentenced to two to five years’ imprisonment, and the diya shall be paid according to the relevant provisions. 
 
 Article 625- Murder and assault and battery, if committed in self-defense and in order to save the perpetrator’s or someone else’s life or honor or property, then the perpetrator shall not be punished subject to the following conditions and provided that the defense is proportionate to the danger that threatened the perpetrator. 
 
 Note- In the case of defending someone else’s property, this article is applicable [only] if the defender is responsible to protect the property or if the owner of the property calls for help. 
 
 Article 626- When an act is considered as a crime against life or honor or property, even though committed by state agents, then any form of defense shall be permitted to save the life or honor or property. 
 
 Article 627- Defense is [permitted] in the following cases: 
 
 A - The fear for life or dignity or honor or property must be based on reasonable grounds. 
 
 B - The defense is proportionate to the attack. 
 
 C - There is no way to resort to state forces or an easier way to escape. 
 
 Article 628- Resisting police forces or other law enforcement officers while they are performing their duties shall not be considered as a defense; however, if they go beyond their authority, and according to the circumstances there is a fear that their acts will cause death or injury or assault to [someone’s] honor or property, then defending against them is permitted as well. 
 
 Article 629- In the following cases, murder is not punishable provided that the defense is possible only by murdering [the attacker]: 
 
 A - Defending against a murder or severe assault and battery or severe abuse or defending the defender’s and his family members’ honor. 
 
 B - Defending against someone who wants to rape someone else. 
 
 C - Defending against someone who wants to abduct someone or steal his property. 
 
 Article 630- When a man sees her wife committing zina with another man, provided that he is certain that his wife is willing [to have sex], he can kill both of them in the same position; however if he knows that his wife acts under coercion, he may only kill the man [i.e. her rapist]. The same rule applies to assault and battery. 
 
 Article 631- Anyone who abducts or conceals a newborn baby or replaces him with another baby or declares him to be another woman’s baby instead of his real mother, shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment; and if it is proved that the baby was dead the offender shall be sentenced to a fine of one hundred thousand to five hundred thousand Rials. 
 
 Article 632- If anyone fails to hand over a baby that had been given to him when he is asked to do so by persons who have the right to demand the baby, he shall be sentenced to three to six months’ imprisonment or a fine of one million and five hundred thousand to three million Rials. 
 
 Article 633- Anyone who, whether personally or at someone else’s order, abandons a baby or an individual who is unable to defend himself in a deserted place shall be sentenced to six months to two years’ imprisonment or a fine of three million to twelve million Rials; and if he abandons him in a residential area, he shall be sentenced to up to half of the abovementioned punishment; and if the act causes injury or death, the offender, in addition to the abovementioned punishment, shall also be sentenced to qisas or diya. 
 
 Article 634- Anyone who, without legal permission, exhumes a grave shall be sentenced to three months and one day to one year of imprisonment and if he commits any other crimes in addition to exhumation, he shall be sentenced to the punishment provided for that crime as well. 
 
 Article 635- Anyone who, violating the regulations provided for burial of the dead, buries a corpse or facilitates its burial or conceals it, shall be sentenced to a fine of one hundred to one million Rials. 
 
 Article 636- Anyone who, while being aware of the murder, conceals the corpse of a murdered person, or buries it before reporting it to the officials responsible for the investigation of crimes, shall be sentenced to three months and one day to one year of imprisonment. 
 
 Chapter Eighteen- Crimes against public prudency and morality 
 
 Article 637- When a man and a woman who are not married to each other, commit indecent acts other than zina, such as kissing or sleeping next to one another, they shall be sentenced to up to ninety-nine lashes; and if the act is committed by force only the one who has used force shall be punished as ta’zir. 
 
 Article 638- Anyone in public places and roads who openly commits a harām (sinful) act, in addition to the punishment provided for the act, shall be sentenced to two months’ imprisonment or up to 74 lashes; and if they commit an act that is not punishable but violates public prudency, they shall only be sentenced to ten days to two months’ imprisonment or up to 74 lashes. 
 
 Note- Women, who appear in public places and roads without wearing an Islamic hijab, shall be sentenced to ten days to two months’ imprisonment or a fine of fifty thousand to five hundred Rials. 
 
 Article 639- The following individuals shall be sentenced to one year to ten years’ imprisonment and in respect to paragraph (A), in addition to the punishment provided, the relevant place shall be closed temporarily at the discretion of the court. 
 
 A - Anyone who establishes or directs a place of immorality or prostitution. 
 
 B - Anyone facilitates or encourages people to immorality or prostitution. 
 
 Note- If the abovementioned act is regarded as qavadi (procuring), in addition to the punishment provided above, [the offender] shall be sentenced to the hadd punishment for qavadi (procuring). 
 
 Article 640- The following individuals shall be sentenced to three months to one year of imprisonment and a fine of one million and five hundred Rials to six million Rials and up to 74 lashes or to one or two of the above punishments. 
 
 1 - Anyone who, for distribution and business purposes, displays and shows to the public, or produces or keeps any writing or design, gravure, painting, picture, newspapers, advertisements, signs, film, cinema movie, or basically anything, that violates public prudency and morality. 
 
 2 - Anyone who, whether personally or through someone else, for the abovementioned purposes, imports or exports the aforementioned objects, or by any means deals or acts as a broker to the [abovementioned] business or any other businesses, or benefits from renting the said objects. 
 
 3 - Anyone who, by any means, advertises to encourage dealing and promoting the abovementioned objects, or introduces people who commit the abovementioned illegal acts, or the place the said objects can be obtained. 
 
 Note 1- This article is not applicable in the case of objects that are obtained or bought or sold or used in accordance to the Shari’a rules and for scientific or any other permitted reasonable purposes. 
 
 Note 2- The object mentioned in this article shall be seized and their contents shall be removed and then shall be submitted to the relevant state organ to be used properly. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Article 641- When anyone disturbs other people through the telephone or other telecommunication devices, in addition to enforcement of special regulations of the Telecommunication Company, shall be sentenced to one to six months’ imprisonment. 
 
 Chapter Nineteen- Crimes against family rights and responsibilities 
 
 Article 642- Anyone who fails to pay his wife’s nafaqa (maintenance), while he has the financial ability, subject to the wife’s tamkin (obedience), or fails to pay other members of his family that he is legally responsible to pay their nafaqa, shall be sentenced by court to three months and one day to five months’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 643- Anyone who knowingly concludes a marriage contract between a man and a married woman, or a woman who is in her edda period [a period during which a separated or widowed woman is prohibited from remarrying], shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment or a fine from three million to eighteen million Rials and up to 74 lashes. And if he is a director of a Marriage and Divorce Register Office or a Notary Public, he shall be permanently prohibited from directing the said offices. 
 
 Article 644- Those who knowingly commit one of the following acts shall be sentenced to six months to two years’ imprisonment or a fine of three to twelve million Rials: 
 
 1 - Any woman who is married, or during her edda period, with a man, and marries another man but no sexual relations happen. 
 
 2 - Anyone who marries a married woman or a woman who is in her edda period, but no sexual relations happen. 
 
 Article 645- In order to protect the institution of family, the registration of the marriage contract, a divorce, and revocation of the divorce is mandatory. Any man who concludes a permanent marriage, or divorces, or revokes a divorce without registering in a Register Office, shall be sentenced to up to one year of ta’zir imprisonment. 
 
 Article 646- Marriage before puberty without the permission of the guardian is forbidden. If a man violates Article 1041 of the Civil Code, and its note, and marries a girl before she reaches the age of puberty, he shall be sentenced to six months to two years’ ta’zir imprisonment. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Article 647- If before the marriage, any one of the parties to a marriage deceives the other party with unreal claims such as higher education, financial ability, social status, career or special position, being single, etc, and the marriage contract is concluded on the basis of any such claims, the offender shall be sentenced to six months to two years’ ta’zir imprisonment. 
 
 Chapter Twenty- Perjury and revealing secrets 
 
 Article 648- Doctors and surgeons and midwives and pharmacists and all persons who, due to their profession or career, are trusted with secrets, if they reveal people’s secrets in cases other than those permitted by law, shall be sentenced to three months and one day to one year of imprisonment or a fine of one million and five hundred thousand to six million Rials. 
 
 Article 649- Anyone who takes an oath but perjures in a civil or criminal case lodged against him shall be sentenced six months to two years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 650- Anyone who perjures before the court shall be sentenced to three months and one day to two years’ imprisonment or to a fine of one million and five hundred thousand to twelve million Rials. 
 
 Note- The punishment provided in this article is in addition to the punishment for perjury under hudud and qisas and diya provisions. 
 
 Chapter Twenty One- Theft and stealing other people’s property 
 
 Article 651- When a theft does not meet the requirements for hadd punishment but satisfies all the following five conditions, the offender shall be sentenced to five to twenty years’ imprisonment and up to 74 lashes. 
 
 1-The theft is committed during the night. 
 
 2-The thieves are two or more individuals. 
 
 3-One or more of the thieves carry a visible or hidden weapon. 
 
 Note (added on 12/11/2008)- The weapon referred to in this paragraph includes the following: 
 
 (1) All sorts of firearms such as guns and grenades. 
 
 (2) All sorts of cold weapons such as machete, sword, knife, and brass knuckles. 
 
 (3) All sorts of military cold weapons including trench knives that are common in the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran or the like and bayonets attachable on the rifle. 
 
 (4) All sorts of hunting guns including popguns, special guns for anesthetizing animals, and special guns for hunting aquatic animals. 
 
 4-If the thief/thieves have climbed a wall or broken into a protected place or used a master key or impersonated civil servants or used their uniforms or titles, or if they committed the theft in a residential place or its attachments. 
 
 5-If [the thief/thieves] have threatened or harmed someone during the theft. 
 
 Article 652- If the theft is committed with harming someone, or if the thief is armed, he shall be sentenced to three months to ten years’ imprisonment and up to 74 lashes; and if someone is injured, in addition to the punishment for injury, he shall be sentenced to the maximum punishment provided in this article. 
 
 Article 653- Anyone who, by any means, commits banditry in the roads and ways, unless he is regarded as mohareb, shall be sentenced to three to fifteen years’ imprisonment and up to 74 lashes. 
 
 Article 654-When a theft is committed during the night and the thieves are two or more persons and at least one of them carries a visible or hidden weapon, unless the one who carries the weapon is regarded as mohareb, the offender(s) shall be sentenced to five to fifteen years’ imprisonment and up to 74 lashes. 
 
 Article 655- An attempted theft in the cases mentioned in the previous articles is punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment and up to 74 lashes. 
 
 Article 656- If a theft does not meet the requirements for the hadd punishment and satisfies the following conditions, the offender shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment and up to 74 lashes: 
 
 1-The theft is committed in a residential place or its attachments or in public places such as a mosque or public baths etc. 
 
 2-The theft is committed in a place that is protected by trees and bushes or hedges or fences and the thief breaks into the protected place. 
 
 3-The theft is committed during the night. 
 
 4-The thieves are two or more persons. 
 
 5-The thief is an employee and has stolen his employer’s property, or stolen someone else’s property in his employer’s house or someone’s house that he had gone there together with the employer or he is an apprentice or worker, or in his usual place of work such as home, shop, workshop, factory, and warehouse. 
 
 6-When directors of a hotel and guesthouse and caravansary and basically all persons who due to their job have access to some properties, steal whole or part of that property. 
 
 Article 657- Anyone who steals someone’s property through pick-pocketing or purse-snatching and the like shall be sentenced to one to five years’ imprisonment and up to 74 lashes. 
 
 Article 658- If the theft is committed in areas stricken by flood or earthquake or war or fire or in a place of a car-crash, provided that it is not punishable by hadd, the offender shall be sentenced to one to five years’ imprisonment and up to 74 lashes. 
 
 Article 659- Anyone who steals tools and parts of facilities that are being used by the public and are built or installed at the government’s cost or a joint funding by the government and private sector or by non-governmental or charity organizations, such as water and electricity and gas facilities, shall be sentenced to one to five years’ imprisonment; and if the offender is among the employees of the relevant organizations he shall be sentenced to the maximum punishment provided. 
 
 Article 660 (amended on 12/11/2008)- Anyone who, without paying the subscription fee for water and sewage and electricity and gas and telephone, illegally uses water and electricity and telephone and gas and sewage systems, in addition to compensation of the damages, shall be sentenced to a fine equal or twice as much as the damages. If the offender is among the employees of the said organizations he shall be sentenced to the maximum punishment provided. 
 
 Article 661- In other cases where the theft does not meet the requirements mentioned in the above articles, the offender can be punished from three months and one day to two years’ imprisonment and up to 74 lashes. 
 
 Article 662- Anyone who, knowingly and in spite of reliable circumstantial evidence that implies a property is stolen, obtains or conceals or accepts or deals the property, shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment and up to 74 lashes. If the offender deals stolen properties as his career, he shall be sentenced to the maximum punishment provided in this article. 
 
 Article 663- Anyone who, knowingly and without permission, takes possession or uses objects and properties seized by competent authorities, and whose act breaches the seizure, even though he is the owner of the property, shall be sentenced to three months to one year of imprisonment. 
 
 Article 664- Anyone who, knowingly and deliberately, in order to commit a crime, makes or changes a key or makes or obtains any tools to commit a crime, shall be sentenced to three months to one year of imprisonment and up to 74 lashes. 
 
 Article 665- Anyone who steals someone else’s property but his act is not regarded as theft, shall be sentenced to six months to one year of imprisonment; and if his act causes any harm to the victim shall be sentenced to the relevant punishment as well. 
 
 Article 666- If an offender repeats the commission of theft, his punishment shall be the maximum punishment provided by law. 
 
 Note- If an offender repeats the commission of theft, and if he has three previous final convictions, the court cannot mitigate his punishment under the provisions of mitigating circumstances. 
 
 
 
 Article 667- In all cases of theft and stealing properties referred to in this chapter, the court, in addition to imposing the punishment provided, shall sentence the offender or thief to restore the stolen property, and if the property is not available to provide its equivalent or pay its value and also to compensate the damages. 
 
 
 
 Chapter Twenty Two- Threatening and coercing 
 
 Article 668- Anyone uses force or coerces or threatens someone else to make him provide a writing or document or signature or stamp, or takes from him a document or writing which, is entrusted, or belongs, to him, shall be sentenced to three months to two years’ imprisonment and up to 74 lashes. 
 
 Article 669- Anyone who by any means threatens someone else to death or damage to his body or honor or property or to reveal a secret against him or his relatives, whether or not he demands money or any action, shall be sentenced up to 74 lashes or to two months to two years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Chapter Twenty Three- Bankruptcy 
 
 Article 670- Those who are convicted of fraudulent bankruptcy shall be sentenced to one to five years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 671- Culpable bankruptcy is punishable by six to two years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 672- When a liquidator, while dealing with a case of bankruptcy, colludes between the creditors and bankrupt tradesman, whether directly or indirectly and whether through a contract or any other means, he shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment or a fine of three to eighteen million Rials. 
 
 Chapter Twenty Four- Breach of trust 
 
 Article 673- Anyone who abuses a blank document which is previously signed or stamped and entrusted to him or that he has obtained by any means, shall be sentenced to one to three years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 674- When goods or real-estate or documents such as a bill of exchange, check, receipt, etc are entrusted to someone under a rent contract or deposit or mortgage or proxy or any paid or unpaid work, and the said items were supposed to be returned, or used for a specific purpose, and the person entrusted with those items uses or destroys or loses them to the detriment of their owners or possessors, he shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Chapter Twenty Five- Arson and destruction of property and animals 
 
 Article 675- Anyone who deliberately sets fire to a building or house or ship or airplane or factory or warehouse and basically any residential place, or jungle or heap or any type of farming products or trees or farms or gardens belong to someone else, shall be sentenced to two to five years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Note 1- If the abovementioned acts are committed with the intent to oppose the Islamic State, it is punishable by the punishment provided for mohareb. 
 
 Note 2- Attempted crimes mentioned above are punishable by six months to two years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 676- Anyone who sets fire to someone else’s movable belongings shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 677- Anyone who destroys or damages or ruins someone else’s movable belongings or real estate shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 678- When the crimes mentioned in articles 676 and 677 are committed by using explosives, the offender shall be sentenced to two to five years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 679- Anyone who deliberately and unnecessarily kills or poisons or wastes or impairs someone else’s halal-meat animal [animals whose meat is permitted to be consumed under Islamic Shari’a], or other [protected] animals that are illegal to hunt, shall be sentenced to ninety one days to six months’ imprisonment or a fine of one million and five hundred thousand to three million Rials. 
 
 Article 680- Anyone who without permission and against the law hunts or traps protected wild animals and species shall be sentenced to three months to three years’ imprisonment or a fine of one and a half million to eighteen million Rials. 
 
 Article 681- Anyone who, knowingly, burns or destroys any governmental books and deeds and documents shall be sentenced to two to ten years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 682- Anyone who, knowingly, burns or destroys any non-governmental or commercial documents or bills which causes damage to a third party, shall be sentenced to three months to two years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 683- Any kind of looting or destruction of goods and properties or crops that is committed by using force by a group of more than three individuals, if the offenders are not considered as mohareb, shall be punishable by two to five years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 684- Anyone who pastures [his animals] in someone else’s crops, or destroys someone’s vineyard or orchard or palm garden, or cuts or harvests someone else’s crops, or steals or stops the allocated water and causes its waste, or breaks down someone else’s mill, shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment and up to 74 lashes. 
 
 Article 685- Anyone who, without permission and by any means, destroys or cuts a palm tree shall be sentenced to three to six months’ imprisonment or a fine of one million and five hundred thousand to three million Rials, or both the punishments. 
 
 Article 686- Anyone who, knowingly and deliberately and against the Development of Green Spaces Act, cuts or destroys any type of trees mentioned in article one of the said Act, in addition to compensation of the damages, shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment or a fine of three million to eighteen million Rials. 
 
 Article 687- Anyone who destroys or sets fire to or breaks down or damages tools and facilities used by the public such as water and sewage, electricity, oil, gas, post, telegraph, and telephone networks, and frequency and microwave (telecommunication), and radio and TV centers, and also their related facilities such as dams, channels, pipes, power stations and power and communication lines (air or underground or fiber-optic cables) and the generators and distribution machines which are built by public funding or joint governmental and private funding or by private sector for public use, and also traffic signs and other signs installed to save people’s lives or to ensure safety of the abovementioned facilities or roads, provided that he does not have any intent to disrupt public order and security, shall be sentenced to three months to ten years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Note 1- If the abovementioned acts are committed with the intent to disrupt public order and security and to oppose the Islamic State, the offender shall be sentenced to the punishment provided for mohareb. 
 
 Note 2- Attempting to commit the abovementioned crimes shall be punishable by one to three years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 688- Any act that is regarded as a threat to public health, such as polluting drinking waters or distributing polluted drinking waters, insanitary removal of human and animal wastes, throwing poisonous materials into rivers, [throwing] garbage in the streets, the illegal slaughter of animals, the illegal use of raw sewage or drained water of sewage refineries for agricultural purposes, is forbidden and the offenders, unless punishable by more severe punishments under special laws, shall be sentenced to up to one year of imprisonment. 
 
 Note 1- It is the responsibility of the ‘Ministry of Health, Treatment and Medical Education’, ‘Department of Environment Protection’, and the ‘Department of Veterinary Medicine’, whichever is concerned, to determine whether or not an act is a threat to public health, or is environmental pollution or the illegal slaughter of animals and removal of animal waste, and further to file a suit. 
 
 Note 2- Environmental pollution is defined as distributing or mixing external materials into water or air or soil or land to the extent that changes its physical, chemical, or biological quality and damages the lives of people or other animals and plants. 
 
 Article 689- In all the cases mentioned in this chapter, when arson or destruction and other acts result in death or loss of limb or wound or injury to a person, the offender, in addition to the punishments provided, shall be sentenced accordingly to qisas or diya, and in all the cases, to provide compensation for the damages. 
 
 Chapter Twenty Six- Violating and trespassing other people’s houses and estates 
 
 Article 690- Anyone who, in order to possess or claim to be the right holder, creates scenes and resorts to deceptive measures such as digging the foundations, building walls, changing or removing the borders between land, terracing, digging a canal, drilling a well, planting trees, etc to create evidence for his possession in farming lands (whether already planted or in rotation cultivation), jungles and nationalized meadows, mountains, gardens, tree nurseries, water supplies, springs, natural streams, national parks, agricultural and stockbreeding facilities and farms, wastelands and uncultivated lands and other lands and estates which belong to the government or the companies which belong to the government or municipalities or [Department of] Endowments, and also lands and estates which are endowed for public or private use, or if, without permission of the Department of Environmental Protection or other relevant bodies, resorts to an operation that destroys the environment and natural resources, or commits any violation or unlawful possession or disruption of rights in the abovementioned cases, shall be sentenced to one month to one year of imprisonment. The court is obliged to order the elimination of the unlawful possession or disruption, or restoration of the previous status. 
 
 Note 1- The abovementioned crimes shall be heard out of set order and the judicial authority shall prepare minutes and order the suspension of the offender’s operation until the final decision is made. 
 
 Note 2- When the accused persons are three or more individuals and there is strong circumstantial evidence that proves their commission of the crime, an arrest order shall be issued; the claimant can apply for dispossession [of the offender(s)] and demolition of the building and trees and removal of the traces of the violation. 
 
 Article 691- Anyone who forcibly enters an estate which is possessed by someone else, whether or not it is walled or fenced, or even if it was not forcible at the beginning but despite the possessor’s warning [the offender] has stayed by using force, in addition to elimination of his violation, shall be sentenced to one to six months’ imprisonment. When the offenders are two or more individuals and at least one of them carries a weapon, they shall be sentenced to one to three years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 692- Anyone who forcibly possesses someone else’s estate, in addition to removal of the violation, shall be sentenced to three months to one year of imprisonment. 
 
 Article 693- If anyone, according to a final judgment, is convicted to eviction or removal of disturbance from a real estate, but after the judgment is enforced, repossesses, or makes disturbance for, the same property again, in addition to removal of the violation, shall be sentenced to six months to two years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 694- Anyone who forcibly or by resorting to threat enters someone else’s house shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment and if the offenders are two or more individuals and at least one of them carries a weapon they shall be sentenced to one to six years’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 695- If the crimes mentioned in articles 692 and 693 are committed during the night the offender shall be sentenced to the maximum punishment provided. 
 
 Article 696- In all cases where the offender, in addition to the criminal punishment, is convicted to restoration of the same property or its value or paying the diya and damages caused by the crime, but fails to execute the judgment, at the request of the applicant, the court shall enforce the judgment against the convict through selling his belongings except for exempted items set by law, or to detain the convicted person until he pays the debts. 
 
 Note- If the convicted person claims destitution, he shall remain in detention until the confirming decision on his destitution or payment by installments is made. 
 
 Chapter Twenty Seven- Libel and Insult and Dishonoring 
 
 Article 697- Anyone who, through printed or written papers or by publishing in a newspaper or by giving a speech in events or by any other means, attributes something to a person which is a crime under law and fails to prove that those documents are true, in cases other than those punishable by hadd, shall be sentenced to one month to one year of imprisonment and up to 74 lashes or one of them. 
 
 Article 698- Anyone who, with the intent to cause damage to someone or to disrupt the opinion of the authorities or the public by [sending] a letter or complaint or correspondence or petitions or reports or distribution of printed or written papers, whether signed or without a signature, lies or falsely attributes some acts to an individual or a legal person or officials, whether explicitly or implicitly or whether directly or indirectly, and whether or not it causes material or spiritual damages, in addition to restitution of the prestige [of the victim] if possible, shall be sentenced to two months to two years’ imprisonment or up to 74 lashes. 
 
 Article 699- Anyone who, knowingly and deliberately, with the intent to accuse an individual, without his knowledge, manipulates or conceals the tools and means of a crime or any object for which its possession can be prosecuted, in his home or workplace or pocket or belongings, or claims that such items belong to him, and as a result of this the said individual is prosecuted, after the prosecution is terminated or he is declared innocent, the offender shall be sentenced to six months to three years or up to 74 lashes. 
 
 Article 700- Anyone who satirizes an individual, whether in poetry or prose and whether verbal or written, or publishes a satire, shall be sentenced to one to six months’ imprisonment. 
 
 Chapter Twenty Eight- Public consumption of alcoholic beverages and gambling and tramping 
 
 Article 701- Anyone who, publically and without acting secretly, consumes alcoholic beverages in public places and roads and events, in addition to the hadd punishment for consumption of alcoholic beverages, shall be sentenced to two to six months’ ta’zir imprisonment. 
 
 Article 702- Anyone who produces or buys or sells or proposes to sell or carries or keeps alcoholic beverages or provides to a third person, shall be sentenced to six months to one year of imprisonment and up to 74 lashes and a fine five times as much as the usual (commercial) value of the aforementioned object. 
 
 Article 703- Importing alcoholic beverages into the country shall be considered as smuggling and the importer, regardless of the amount [of the beverages], shall be sentenced to six months to five years’ imprisonment and up to 74 lashes and a fine ten times as much as the usual (commercial) value of the aforementioned object. This crime can be tried in the General Courts. 
 
 Note 1- In respect to articles 702 and 703, when the discovered alcoholic beverages are more than twenty liters, the vehicle used for its transport, if its owner is aware of the matter, shall be confiscated in favor of the government; otherwise the offender shall be sentenced [to a fine] equal to the value of the vehicle. Tools and equipments used for producing or facilitating the crimes mentioned in the said articles, as well as the money gained through the transactions, shall be confiscated in favor of the government. 
 
 Note 2- When civil servants or employees of governmental companies or companies or institutes dependant to government, councils, municipalities or Islamic revolutionary bodies, and basically all the three powers and also members of armed forces and public service officials, commit, or participate, or aid and abet in the crimes mentioned in articles 702 and 703, in addition to the punishments provided, they shall be sentenced to one to five years’ temporary suspension from civil service. 
 
 Note 3- The court, under no circumstances, shall suspend the execution of the punishment provided in articles 702 and 703. 
 
 Article 704- Anyone who has set up a place for the consumption of alcoholic beverages or invites people to that place shall be sentenced to three months to two years’ imprisonment and 74 lashes or a fine of one million and five hundred thousand to twelve million Rials or both the punishments; and if they commit both of the abovementioned crimes they shall be sentenced to the maximum punishment provided. 
 
 Article 705- Gambling by any means is forbidden and the offenders shall be sentenced to one to six months’ imprisonment or up to 74 lashes; and if they commit gambling publically, they shall be sentenced to both the punishments. 
 
 Article 706- Anyone who buys or carries or keeps gambling tools shall be sentenced to one to three months’ imprisonment or a fine of five hundred thousand to one million and five hundred thousand Rials. 
 
 Article 707- Anyone who makes or sells or offers to sell or imports or provides to someone else shall be sentenced to three months to one year of imprisonment and one million and a fine of five hundred thousand to six million Rials. 
 
 Article 708- Anyone who sets up a gambling house or invites people to that place shall be sentenced to six months to two years’ imprisonment or a fine of three million to twelve million Rials. 
 
 Article 709- All the tools and cash that belong to gambling shall be, respectively, destroyed or confiscated as a fine. 
 
 Article 710- Individuals who accept to serve in the gambling houses or places prepared for the consumption of alcoholic beverages mentioned in articles 701 and 705, or by any means assists the directors of such places, shall be considered as an accessory to the crime and their punishment is [equal to] the punishment provided for the principal to the crime; however, the court, considering the circumstances and the extent of his acts, may mitigate his punishment. 
 
 Article 711- When a law enforcement officers and other competent officials are aware of the places mentioned in articles 704 and 705 and 708 or persons mentioned in article 710 but fail to report the issue to relevant authorities or they produce false reports, if they are not subject to a harsher punishment under another law, they shall be sentenced to three to six months of imprisonment or up to 74 lashes. 
 
 Article 712- Anyone who has chosen beggary or swindling as his occupation and earns his living out of it shall be sentenced to one to three months’ imprisonment; and if he commits the abovementioned acts while he has no financial need, in addition to the punishments provided, all the properties gained though beggary and swindling shall be confiscated. 
 
 Article 713- Anyone who uses a child or an incompetent person for a beggaring purpose or appoints some people for this purpose, shall be sentenced to two years and restitution of all properties gained through this way. 
 
 Chapter Twenty Nine- Traffic Crimes 
 
 Article 714- When negligence or recklessness or violation of state regulations or the lack of driving skills of a driver of land or marine or air vehicles or operator of a motorized vehicle causes a manslaughter, the offender shall be sentenced to six months to three years’ imprisonment, and also payment of diya, if requested by blood owners. 
 
 Article 715- When any one of the grounds mentioned in article 714 causes untreatable physical or mental illness or loss of a sense or disability of a limb that is crucial in human life, or the permanent disfiguration of a limb or face, or miscarriage, the offender shall be sentenced to two months to one year of imprisonment, and the payment of diya, if requested by blood owners. 
 
 Article 716- When any one of the grounds mentioned in article 714 causes a bodily injury that permanently impairs a sense or makes a limb defective, or if it destroys a part of the affected limb without causing disability of that limb, or causes a premature delivery by a pregnant woman, the offender shall be sentenced to two months to six months’ imprisonment, and payment of diya, if requested by the victim. 
 
 Article 717- When any one of the grounds mentioned in article 714 causes bodily injury, the offender shall be sentenced to one to five months’ imprisonment, and payment of diya, if requested by the victim. 
 
 Article 718- In the abovementioned articles, when a driver or operator of a motorized vehicle, at the time of commission of the crime, was drunk or lacked the [required driving] license or exceeded the speed limit, or used the motorized vehicle despite mechanical defects and malfunction which is effective in causing the accident, or ignores the special lines allocated for pedestrians, or drives through forbidden pathways, shall be sentenced to more than two-thirds of the maximum punishment provided in the above article. The court, in addition to the abovementioned punishment, may ban the offender from driving or operating motorized vehicles for one to five years. 
 
 Note- In execution of the punishments provided in articles 714 and 718 of this Code, paragraph 1 of article 3 of the Law of Clearance of some of the Government’s Incomes and its Spending in Specific Cases adopted by the IRI Parliament on 19/03/1995 is not applicable. 
 
 Article 719- When an injured person [in a car crash] needs urgent help and the driver, while being capable of taking the injured person to a medical center or calling for help from police forces, or in order to escape from prosecution leaves the scene and abandons the injured person, he shall be sentenced to more than two-thirds of the punishment provided in articles 714 and 715 and 716. The court is not allowed to mitigate the punishment under this article. 
 
 Note 1- The driver is allowed to move the vehicle from the accident scene to perform the duties mentioned in this article, [only] if there is no other way to help the injured person. 
 
 Note 2- In all the above mentioned cases, when the driver takes the injured person to a place for treatment and rest, or informs the relevant officials about the incident, or if by any means facilitates the injured person’s treatment and rest and relief, the court shall consider mitigating his punishment. 
 
 Article 720- Anyone who manipulates the numbers and specifications of plates of land or marine or farming motorized vehicles, or attaches another motorized vehicle’s plate to it, or attaches a false plate, or uses such vehicles while being aware of the false or manipulated plate, and also anybody who, without permission from the traffic police, changes the chassis or motor or plate numbers of motorized vehicles or motor or chassis plates which are carved or installed by the manufacturer company, or changes its original form, shall be sentenced to six months to one year of imprisonment. 
 
 Article 721- Anyone who wants to junk a motorized vehicle must first report the issue and the place the car is parked to the local traffic police office. The traffic police must issue the permission within one week and if for some reason they disagree with junking [the vehicle], inform the applicant about its decision within the same period. If the traffic police do not declare their decision in the said period, junking the vehicle is permitted after the deadline is expired. Violation of this article shall be punishable by two months to one year of imprisonment. 
 
 Article 722- If a motorized vehicle or its plate is stolen or lost, the possessor of the vehicle, whether or not he is the owner of the vehicle, as soon as he becomes aware, shall report the issue to the nearest police station. Violation of this article shall be punishable by five hundred thousand to one million Rials. 
 
 Article 723- Anyone who, without an official driving license, drives or operates a motorized vehicle that requires a special license, and also anyone who is banned by a court decision from driving a motorized vehicle, drives the aforementioned vehicles, in the first instance shall be sentenced to up to two months’ ta’zir imprisonment or a fine of up to one million Rials or both the punishments, and in the case of recurrence shall be sentenced to two to six months’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 724- Any driver of a vehicle that deliberately manipulates the speed-recorder equipment of the vehicle so that the equipment shows a lower speed than the actual speed, or drives the vehicle while being aware that the said equipment is manipulated, in the first instance shall be sentenced to ten days to two months’ imprisonment or a fine of fifty thousand to five hundred thousand Rials or both the punishments, and in the case of recurrence shall be sentenced to six months to two to six months’ imprisonment. 
 
 Article 725- If any government official who is responsible for the assessment of driving skills and issuance of driving licenses, issues a driving license for an incompetent applicant, they shall be sentenced to six months to one year of ta’zir imprisonment and five years’ prohibition from civil service and the aforementioned license shall be revoked. 
 
 Article 726- An accessory to a ta’zir crime shall be punished with the minimum punishment provided for the same crime. 
 
 Article 727- The crimes mentioned in articles 558, 559, 560, 561, 562, 563, 564, 565, 566, later part of article 596, 608, 622, 633, 642, 648, 668, 669, 676, 677, 679, 682, 684, 685, 690, 692, 694, 697, 699, and 700 shall not be prosecuted unless by complaint of a private complainant and if the private complainant forgives [waives his complaint] the court may mitigate the punishment of the offender, or according to the Shari’a provisions abandon the prosecution. 
 
 Article 728- Considering the characteristics of a crime and the offender and the number of instances in which the crime was committed, when delivering the judgment and if required, the court may apply the rules regarding mitigation or the suspension of punishment and supplementary and substitute punishments such as the temporary deprivation of public services. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Source: http://www.iranhrdc.org/persian/permalink/3310.html#.UVv6b5Ntgd0 ||||| Growing Up on Death Row: The Death Penalty and Juvenile Offenders in Iran 
 
 View More Research 
 
 Scores of youths in Iran are languishing on death row for crimes committed under the age of 18, said Amnesty International in a new report published today. The report debunks recent attempts by Iran’s authorities to whitewash their continuing violations of children’s rights and deflect criticism of their appalling record as one of the world’s last executioners of juvenile offenders. 
 
 Growing Up on Death Row: The Death Penalty and Juvenile Offenders in Iran reveals that Iran has continued to consign juvenile offenders to the gallows, while trumpeting as major advances, piecemeal reforms that fail to abolish the death penalty against juvenile offenders. 
 
 “This report sheds light on Iran’s shameful disregard for the rights of children. Iran is one of the few countries that continues to execute juvenile offenders in blatant violation of the absolute legal prohibition on the use of the death penalty against people under the age of 18 years at the time of the crime,” said Said Boumedouha, deputy director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Program. 
 
 “Despite some juvenile justice reforms, Iran continues to lag behind the rest of the world, maintaining laws that permit girls as young as nine and boys as young as 15 to be sentenced to death.” 
 
 In recent years the Iranian authorities have celebrated changes to the country’s 2013 Islamic Penal Code that allow judges to replace the death penalty with an alternative punishment based on a discretionary assessment of juvenile offenders’ mental growth and maturity at the time of the crime. However, these measures are far from a cause for celebration. In fact, they lay bare Iran’s ongoing failure to respect a pledge that it undertook over two decades ago, when it ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), to abolish the use of death penalty against juvenile offenders completely. 
 
 As a state party to the CRC Iran is legally obliged to treat everyone under the age of 18 as a child and ensure that they are never subject to the death penalty nor to life imprisonment without possibility of release. 
 
 However, Amnesty International’s report lists 73 executions of juvenile offenders which took place between 2005 and 2015. According to the UN at least 160 juvenile offenders are currently on death row. The true numbers are likely to be much higher as information about the use of the death penalty in Iran is often shrouded in secrecy. 
 
 Amnesty International has been able to identify the names and location of 49 juvenile offenders at risk of the death penalty in the report. Many were found to have spent, on average, about seven years on death row. In a few cases documented by Amnesty International, the time that juvenile offenders spent on death row exceeded a decade. 
 
 “The report paints a deeply distressing picture of juvenile offenders languishing on death row, robbed of valuable years of their lives – often after being sentenced to death following unfair trials, including those based on forced confessions extracted through torture and other ill-treatment,” said Boumedouha. 
 
 In a number of cases the authorities have scheduled the executions of juvenile offenders and then postponed them at the last minute, adding to the severe anguish of being on death row. Such treatment is at the very least cruel, inhuman and degrading. 
 
 ‘Piecemeal’ reforms failing to deliver justice 
 
 Iran’s new Islamic Penal Code adopted in May 2013 had sparked guarded hopes that the situation of juvenile offenders under a death sentence would finally improve, at least in practice. The code allows judges to assess a juvenile offender’s mental maturity at the time of the offence, and potentially, to impose an alternative punishment to the death penalty on the basis of the outcome. In 2014, Iran’s Supreme Court confirmed that all juvenile offenders on death row could apply for retrial. 
 
 Yet almost three years after the changes to the Penal Code, the authorities have continued to carry out executions of juvenile offenders, and in some cases, they even often fail to informed the juvenile offenders of their right to apply for a retrial. ||||| Children’s Rights: Iran 
 
 Back to Children's Rights 
 
 Introduction 
 
 The Islamic Revolution of 1979 introduced drastic and fundamental changes in the social, economic, and political structure of Iran. It marked the end of a 2,500 year-old monarchical regime and brought into power a religion-oriented government based on the Shiite school tenets of Islam. The change in the nature of the regime from secular to religious had its impact both on domestic legislation and international conventions, as explained below. (PDF, 26KB) 
 
 International Conventions 
 
 The Islamic Republic of Iran (Iran) is a party to Convention on the Rights of the Child. Iran adhered to the Convention in September 1991, and ratified it on July 13, 1994.[1] Iran, however, has made the following reservation “If the text of the Convention is or becomes incompatible with the domestic laws and Islamic standards at any time or in any case, the Government of the Islamic Republic shall not abide by it.”[2] Iran has so far (according to the available sources in the Law Library of Congress) not passed legislation calling for the implementation of the Convention. 
 
 Iran is also a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as of April 4, 1968, adhering to this Covenant on June 24, 1975.[3] Iran, however, has not passed any legislation implementing the Covenant (according to the available sources in the Law Library of Congress). 
 
 Domestic Legislation 
 
 The Law Aggravating Punishment for Employing Children under 12 Years of Age in the Carpet Industry of February, 1969 provides for a jail term of six months to one year and a fine of five thousand to fifty thousand rials for violators.[4] Other than the carpet industry, the Labor Law sets age fifteen as the minimum age for employment.[5] 
 
 In addition, the Regulations regarding the Maximum Weight to Be Lifted Manually by Women and Teenagers of February 1991 provide that the load to be lifted manually by a woman should not exceed ten kilograms. For a male teenager, it should not exceed twenty kilograms.[6] 
 
 Back to Top 
 
 Prepared by G.H. Vafai 
 
 Senior Foreign Law Specialist 
 
 August 2007 
 
 [1] See list of countries ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, http://www.ohchr.org/english/countries/ratification/11.htm (external link) (last visited Aug. 9, 2007). 
 
 [2] HUQUQI KOODAK, Shirin Ebadi (1996) (in Farsi). 
 
 [3] See list of countries ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, http://www.ohchr.org/english/countries/ratification/4.htm#reservations (external link) (last visited Aug. 9, 2007). 
 
 [4] MAJMUAHI QAVANIN SALI 1347, 495 (1968) (in Farsi). 
 
 [5] COLLECTION OF LABOR LAWS (Yar Bakhat 1993). 
 
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 Text in PDF Format 
 
 Convention on the Rights of the Child 
 
 Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989 
 
 entry into force 2 September 1990, in accordance with article 49 
 
 Preamble 
 
 The States Parties to the present Convention, 
 
 Considering that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, 
 
 Bearing in mind that the peoples of the United Nations have, in the Charter, reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights and in the dignity and worth of the human person, and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, 
 
 Recognizing that the United Nations has, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the International Covenants on Human Rights, proclaimed and agreed that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, 
 
 Recalling that, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations has proclaimed that childhood is entitled to special care and assistance, 
 
 Convinced that the family, as the fundamental group of society and the natural environment for the growth and well-being of all its members and particularly children, should be afforded the necessary protection and assistance so that it can fully assume its responsibilities within the community, 
 
 Recognizing that the child, for the full and harmonious development of his or her personality, should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding, 
 
 Considering that the child should be fully prepared to live an individual life in society, and brought up in the spirit of the ideals proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, and in particular in the spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and solidarity, 
 
 Bearing in mind that the need to extend particular care to the child has been stated in the Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child of 1924 and in the Declaration of the Rights of the Child adopted by the General Assembly on 20 November 1959 and recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (in particular in articles 23 and 24), in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (in particular in article 10) and in the statutes and relevant instruments of specialized agencies and international organizations concerned with the welfare of children, 
 
 Bearing in mind that, as indicated in the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, "the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth", 
 
 Recalling the provisions of the Declaration on Social and Legal Principles relating to the Protection and Welfare of Children, with Special Reference to Foster Placement and Adoption Nationally and Internationally; the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (The Beijing Rules); and the Declaration on the Protection of Women and Children in Emergency and Armed Conflict, Recognizing that, in all countries in the world, there are children living in exceptionally difficult conditions, and that such children need special consideration, 
 
 Taking due account of the importance of the traditions and cultural values of each people for the protection and harmonious development of the child, Recognizing the importance of international co-operation for improving the living conditions of children in every country, in particular in the developing countries, 
 
 Have agreed as follows: 
 
 PART I 
 
 Article 1 
 
 For the purposes of the present Convention, a child means every human being below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier. 
 
 Article 2 
 
 1. States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child's or his or her parent's or legal guardian's race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status. 
 
 2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child's parents, legal guardians, or family members. 
 
 Article 3 
 
 1. In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration. 
 
 2. States Parties undertake to ensure the child such protection and care as is necessary for his or her well-being, taking into account the rights and duties of his or her parents, legal guardians, or other individuals legally responsible for him or her, and, to this end, shall take all appropriate legislative and administrative measures. 
 
 3. States Parties shall ensure that the institutions, services and facilities responsible for the care or protection of children shall conform with the standards established by competent authorities, particularly in the areas of safety, health, in the number and suitability of their staff, as well as competent supervision. 
 
 Article 4 
 
 States Parties shall undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative, and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognized in the present Convention. With regard to economic, social and cultural rights, States Parties shall undertake such measures to the maximum extent of their available resources and, where needed, within the framework of international co-operation. 
 
 Article 5 
 
 States Parties shall respect the responsibilities, rights and duties of parents or, where applicable, the members of the extended family or community as provided for by local custom, legal guardians or other persons legally responsible for the child, to provide, in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child, appropriate direction and guidance in the exercise by the child of the rights recognized in the present Convention. 
 
 Article 6 
 
 1. States Parties recognize that every child has the inherent right to life. 
 
 2. States Parties shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child. 
 
 Article 7 
 
 1. The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and. as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents. 
 
 2. States Parties shall ensure the implementation of these rights in accordance with their national law and their obligations under the relevant international instruments in this field, in particular where the child would otherwise be stateless. 
 
 Article 8 
 
 1. States Parties undertake to respect the right of the child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name and family relations as recognized by law without unlawful interference. 
 
 2. Where a child is illegally deprived of some or all of the elements of his or her identity, States Parties shall provide appropriate assistance and protection, with a view to re-establishing speedily his or her identity. 
 
 Article 9 
 
 1. States Parties shall ensure that a child shall not be separated from his or her parents against their will, except when competent authorities subject to judicial review determine, in accordance with applicable law and procedures, that such separation is necessary for the best interests of the child. Such determination may be necessary in a particular case such as one involving abuse or neglect of the child by the parents, or one where the parents are living separately and a decision must be made as to the child's place of residence. 
 
 2. In any proceedings pursuant to paragraph 1 of the present article, all interested parties shall be given an opportunity to participate in the proceedings and make their views known. 
 
 3. States Parties shall respect the right of the child who is separated from one or both parents to maintain personal relations and direct contact with both parents on a regular basis, except if it is contrary to the child's best interests. 
 
 4. Where such separation results from any action initiated by a State Party, such as the detention, imprisonment, exile, deportation or death (including death arising from any cause while the person is in the custody of the State) of one or both parents or of the child, that State Party shall, upon request, provide the parents, the child or, if appropriate, another member of the family with the essential information concerning the whereabouts of the absent member(s) of the family unless the provision of the information would be detrimental to the well-being of the child. States Parties shall further ensure that the submission of such a request shall of itself entail no adverse consequences for the person(s) concerned. 
 
 Article 10 
 
 1. In accordance with the obligation of States Parties under article 9, paragraph 1, applications by a child or his or her parents to enter or leave a State Party for the purpose of family reunification shall be dealt with by States Parties in a positive, humane and expeditious manner. States Parties shall further ensure that the submission of such a request shall entail no adverse consequences for the applicants and for the members of their family. 
 
 2. A child whose parents reside in different States shall have the right to maintain on a regular basis, save in exceptional circumstances personal relations and direct contacts with both parents. Towards that end and in accordance with the obligation of States Parties under article 9, paragraph 1, States Parties shall respect the right of the child and his or her parents to leave any country, including their own, and to enter their own country. The right to leave any country shall be subject only to such restrictions as are prescribed by law and which are necessary to protect the national security, public order (ordre public), public health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others and are consistent with the other rights recognized in the present Convention. 
 
 Article 11 
 
 1. States Parties shall take measures to combat the illicit transfer and non-return of children abroad. 
 
 2. To this end, States Parties shall promote the conclusion of bilateral or multilateral agreements or accession to existing agreements. 
 
 Article 12 
 
 1. States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child. 
 
 2. For this purpose, the child shall in particular be provided the opportunity to be heard in any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting the child, either directly, or through a representative or an appropriate body, in a manner consistent with the procedural rules of national law. 
 
 Article 13 
 
 1. The child shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of the child's choice. 
 
 2. The exercise of this right may be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary: 
 
 (a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others; or 
 
 (b) For the protection of national security or of public order (ordre public), or of public health or morals. 
 
 Article 14 
 
 1. States Parties shall respect the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. 
 
 2. States Parties shall respect the rights and duties of the parents and, when applicable, legal guardians, to provide direction to the child in the exercise of his or her right in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child. 
 
 3. Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health or morals, or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others. 
 
 Article 15 
 
 1. States Parties recognize the rights of the child to freedom of association and to freedom of peaceful assembly. 
 
 2. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of these rights other than those imposed in conformity with the law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. 
 
 Article 16 
 
 1. No child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation. 
 
 2. The child has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks. 
 
 Article 17 
 
 States Parties recognize the important function performed by the mass media and shall ensure that the child has access to information and material from a diversity of national and international sources, especially those aimed at the promotion of his or her social, spiritual and moral well-being and physical and mental health. 
 
 To this end, States Parties shall: 
 
 (a) Encourage the mass media to disseminate information and material of social and cultural benefit to the child and in accordance with the spirit of article 29; 
 
 (b) Encourage international co-operation in the production, exchange and dissemination of such information and material from a diversity of cultural, national and international sources; 
 
 (c) Encourage the production and dissemination of children's books; 
 
 (d) Encourage the mass media to have particular regard to the linguistic needs of the child who belongs to a minority group or who is indigenous; 
 
 (e) Encourage the development of appropriate guidelines for the protection of the child from information and material injurious to his or her well-being, bearing in mind the provisions of articles 13 and 18. 
 
 Article 18 
 
 1. States Parties shall use their best efforts to ensure recognition of the principle that both parents have common responsibilities for the upbringing and development of the child. Parents or, as the case may be, legal guardians, have the primary responsibility for the upbringing and development of the child. The best interests of the child will be their basic concern. 
 
 2. For the purpose of guaranteeing and promoting the rights set forth in the present Convention, States Parties shall render appropriate assistance to parents and legal guardians in the performance of their child-rearing responsibilities and shall ensure the development of institutions, facilities and services for the care of children. 
 
 3. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that children of working parents have the right to benefit from child-care services and facilities for which they are eligible. 
 
 Article 19 
 
 1. States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child. 
 
 2. Such protective measures should, as appropriate, include effective procedures for the establishment of social programmes to provide necessary support for the child and for those who have the care of the child, as well as for other forms of prevention and for identification, reporting, referral, investigation, treatment and follow-up of instances of child maltreatment described heretofore, and, as appropriate, for judicial involvement. 
 
 Article 20 
 
 1. A child temporarily or permanently deprived of his or her family environment, or in whose own best interests cannot be allowed to remain in that environment, shall be entitled to special protection and assistance provided by the State. 
 
 2. States Parties shall in accordance with their national laws ensure alternative care for such a child. 
 
 3. Such care could include, inter alia, foster placement, kafalah of Islamic law, adoption or if necessary placement in suitable institutions for the care of children. When considering solutions, due regard shall be paid to the desirability of continuity in a child's upbringing and to the child's ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic background. 
 
 Article 21 
 
 States Parties that recognize and/or permit the system of adoption shall ensure that the best interests of the child shall be the paramount consideration and they shall: 
 
 (a) Ensure that the adoption of a child is authorized only by competent authorities who determine, in accordance with applicable law and procedures and on the basis of all pertinent and reliable information, that the adoption is permissible in view of the child's status concerning parents, relatives and legal guardians and that, if required, the persons concerned have given their informed consent to the adoption on the basis of such counselling as may be necessary; 
 
 (b) Recognize that inter-country adoption may be considered as an alternative means of child's care, if the child cannot be placed in a foster or an adoptive family or cannot in any suitable manner be cared for in the child's country of origin; 
 
 (c) Ensure that the child concerned by inter-country adoption enjoys safeguards and standards equivalent to those existing in the case of national adoption; 
 
 (d) Take all appropriate measures to ensure that, in inter-country adoption, the placement does not result in improper financial gain for those involved in it; 
 
 (e) Promote, where appropriate, the objectives of the present article by concluding bilateral or multilateral arrangements or agreements, and endeavour, within this framework, to ensure that the placement of the child in another country is carried out by competent authorities or organs. 
 
 Article 22 
 
 1. States Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure that a child who is seeking refugee status or who is considered a refugee in accordance with applicable international or domestic law and procedures shall, whether unaccompanied or accompanied by his or her parents or by any other person, receive appropriate protection and humanitarian assistance in the enjoyment of applicable rights set forth in the present Convention and in other international human rights or humanitarian instruments to which the said States are Parties. 
 
 2. For this purpose, States Parties shall provide, as they consider appropriate, co-operation in any efforts by the United Nations and other competent intergovernmental organizations or non-governmental organizations co-operating with the United Nations to protect and assist such a child and to trace the parents or other members of the family of any refugee child in order to obtain information necessary for reunification with his or her family. In cases where no parents or other members of the family can be found, the child shall be accorded the same protection as any other child permanently or temporarily deprived of his or her family environment for any reason , as set forth in the present Convention. 
 
 Article 23 
 
 1. States Parties recognize that a mentally or physically disabled child should enjoy a full and decent life, in conditions which ensure dignity, promote self-reliance and facilitate the child's active participation in the community. 
 
 2. States Parties recognize the right of the disabled child to special care and shall encourage and ensure the extension, subject to available resources, to the eligible child and those responsible for his or her care, of assistance for which application is made and which is appropriate to the child's condition and to the circumstances of the parents or others caring for the child. 
 
 3. Recognizing the special needs of a disabled child, assistance extended in accordance with paragraph 2 of the present article shall be provided free of charge, whenever possible, taking into account the financial resources of the parents or others caring for the child, and shall be designed to ensure that the disabled child has effective access to and receives education, training, health care services, rehabilitation services, preparation for employment and recreation opportunities in a manner conducive to the child's achieving the fullest possible social integration and individual development, including his or her cultural and spiritual development 
 
 4. States Parties shall promote, in the spirit of international cooperation, the exchange of appropriate information in the field of preventive health care and of medical, psychological and functional treatment of disabled children, including dissemination of and access to information concerning methods of rehabilitation, education and vocational services, with the aim of enabling States Parties to improve their capabilities and skills and to widen their experience in these areas. In this regard, particular account shall be taken of the needs of developing countries. 
 
 Article 24 
 
 1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health. States Parties shall strive to ensure that no child is deprived of his or her right of access to such health care services. 
 
 2. States Parties shall pursue full implementation of this right and, in particular, shall take appropriate measures: 
 
 (a) To diminish infant and child mortality; 
 
 (b) To ensure the provision of necessary medical assistance and health care to all children with emphasis on the development of primary health care; 
 
 (c) To combat disease and malnutrition, including within the framework of primary health care, through, inter alia, the application of readily available technology and through the provision of adequate nutritious foods and clean drinking-water, taking into consideration the dangers and risks of environmental pollution; 
 
 (d) To ensure appropriate pre-natal and post-natal health care for mothers; 
 
 (e) To ensure that all segments of society, in particular parents and children, are informed, have access to education and are supported in the use of basic knowledge of child health and nutrition, the advantages of breastfeeding, hygiene and environmental sanitation and the prevention of accidents; 
 
 (f) To develop preventive health care, guidance for parents and family planning education and services. 
 
 3. States Parties shall take all effective and appropriate measures with a view to abolishing traditional practices prejudicial to the health of children. 
 
 4. States Parties undertake to promote and encourage international co-operation with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the right recognized in the present article. In this regard, particular account shall be taken of the needs of developing countries. 
 
 Article 25 
 
 States Parties recognize the right of a child who has been placed by the competent authorities for the purposes of care, protection or treatment of his or her physical or mental health, to a periodic review of the treatment provided to the child and all other circumstances relevant to his or her placement. 
 
 Article 26 
 
 1. States Parties shall recognize for every child the right to benefit from social security, including social insurance, and shall take the necessary measures to achieve the full realization of this right in accordance with their national law. 
 
 2. The benefits should, where appropriate, be granted, taking into account the resources and the circumstances of the child and persons having responsibility for the maintenance of the child, as well as any other consideration relevant to an application for benefits made by or on behalf of the child. 
 
 Article 27 
 
 1. States Parties recognize the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the child's physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development. 
 
 2. The parent(s) or others responsible for the child have the primary responsibility to secure, within their abilities and financial capacities, the conditions of living necessary for the child's development. 
 
 3. States Parties, in accordance with national conditions and within their means, shall take appropriate measures to assist parents and others responsible for the child to implement this right and shall in case of need provide material assistance and support programmes, particularly with regard to nutrition, clothing and housing. 
 
 4. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to secure the recovery of maintenance for the child from the parents or other persons having financial responsibility for the child, both within the State Party and from abroad. In particular, where the person having financial responsibility for the child lives in a State different from that of the child, States Parties shall promote the accession to international agreements or the conclusion of such agreements, as well as the making of other appropriate arrangements. 
 
 Article 28 
 
 1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to education, and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular: 
 
 (a) Make primary education compulsory and available free to all; 
 
 (b) Encourage the development of different forms of secondary education, including general and vocational education, make them available and accessible to every child, and take appropriate measures such as the introduction of free education and offering financial assistance in case of need; 
 
 (c) Make higher education accessible to all on the basis of capacity by every appropriate means; 
 
 (d) Make educational and vocational information and guidance available and accessible to all children; 
 
 (e) Take measures to encourage regular attendance at schools and the reduction of drop-out rates. 
 
 2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that school discipline is administered in a manner consistent with the child's human dignity and in conformity with the present Convention. 
 
 3. States Parties shall promote and encourage international cooperation in matters relating to education, in particular with a view to contributing to the elimination of ignorance and illiteracy throughout the world and facilitating access to scientific and technical knowledge and modern teaching methods. In this regard, particular account shall be taken of the needs of developing countries. 
 
 Article 29 
 
 1. States Parties agree that the education of the child shall be directed to: 
 
 (a) The development of the child's personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential; 
 
 (b) The development of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and for the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations; 
 
 (c) The development of respect for the child's parents, his or her own cultural identity, language and values, for the national values of the country in which the child is living, the country from which he or she may originate, and for civilizations different from his or her own; 
 
 (d) The preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons of indigenous origin; 
 
 (e) The development of respect for the natural environment. 
 
 2. No part of the present article or article 28 shall be construed so as to interfere with the liberty of individuals and bodies to establish and direct educational institutions, subject always to the observance of the principle set forth in paragraph 1 of the present article and to the requirements that the education given in such institutions shall conform to such minimum standards as may be laid down by the State. 
 
 Article 30 
 
 In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities or persons of indigenous origin exist, a child belonging to such a minority or who is indigenous shall not be denied the right, in community with other members of his or her group, to enjoy his or her own culture, to profess and practise his or her own religion, or to use his or her own language. 
 
 Article 31 
 
 1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts. 
 
 2. States Parties shall respect and promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity. 
 
 Article 32 
 
 1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development. 
 
 2. States Parties shall take legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to ensure the implementation of the present article. To this end, and having regard to the relevant provisions of other international instruments, States Parties shall in particular: 
 
 (a) Provide for a minimum age or minimum ages for admission to employment; 
 
 (b) Provide for appropriate regulation of the hours and conditions of employment; 
 
 (c) Provide for appropriate penalties or other sanctions to ensure the effective enforcement of the present article. 
 
 Article 33 
 
 States Parties shall take all appropriate measures, including legislative, administrative, social and educational measures, to protect children from the illicit use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances as defined in the relevant international treaties, and to prevent the use of children in the illicit production and trafficking of such substances. 
 
 Article 34 
 
 States Parties undertake to protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. For these purposes, States Parties shall in particular take all appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral measures to prevent: 
 
 (a) The inducement or coercion of a child to engage in any unlawful sexual activity; 
 
 (b) The exploitative use of children in prostitution or other unlawful sexual practices; 
 
 (c) The exploitative use of children in pornographic performances and materials. 
 
 Article 35 
 
 States Parties shall take all appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral measures to prevent the abduction of, the sale of or traffic in children for any purpose or in any form. 
 
 Article 36 
 
 States Parties shall protect the child against all other forms of exploitation prejudicial to any aspects of the child's welfare. 
 
 Article 37 
 
 States Parties shall ensure that: 
 
 (a) No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment without possibility of release shall be imposed for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age; 
 
 (b) No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time; 
 
 (c) Every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and in a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of his or her age. In particular, every child deprived of liberty shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in the child's best interest not to do so and shall have the right to maintain contact with his or her family through correspondence and visits, save in exceptional circumstances; 
 
 (d) Every child deprived of his or her liberty shall have the right to prompt access to legal and other appropriate assistance, as well as the right to challenge the legality of the deprivation of his or her liberty before a court or other competent, independent and impartial authority, and to a prompt decision on any such action. 
 
 Article 38 
 
 1. States Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect for rules of international humanitarian law applicable to them in armed conflicts which are relevant to the child. 
 
 2. States Parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure that persons who have not attained the age of fifteen years do not take a direct part in hostilities. 
 
 3. States Parties shall refrain from recruiting any person who has not attained the age of fifteen years into their armed forces. In recruiting among those persons who have attained the age of fifteen years but who have not attained the age of eighteen years, States Parties shall endeavour to give priority to those who are oldest. 
 
 4. In accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect the civilian population in armed conflicts, States Parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure protection and care of children who are affected by an armed conflict. 
 
 Article 39 
 
 States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to promote physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of a child victim of: any form of neglect, exploitation, or abuse; torture or any other form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; or armed conflicts. Such recovery and reintegration shall take place in an environment which fosters the health, self-respect and dignity of the child. 
 
 Article 40 
 
 1. States Parties recognize the right of every child alleged as, accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law to be treated in a manner consistent with the promotion of the child's sense of dignity and worth, which reinforces the child's respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of others and which takes into account the child's age and the desirability of promoting the child's reintegration and the child's assuming a constructive role in society. 
 
 2. To this end, and having regard to the relevant provisions of international instruments, States Parties shall, in particular, ensure that: 
 
 (a) No child shall be alleged as, be accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law by reason of acts or omissions that were not prohibited by national or international law at the time they were committed; 
 
 (b) Every child alleged as or accused of having infringed the penal law has at least the following guarantees: 
 
 (i) To be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law; 
 
 (ii) To be informed promptly and directly of the charges against him or her, and, if appropriate, through his or her parents or legal guardians, and to have legal or other appropriate assistance in the preparation and presentation of his or her defence; 
 
 (iii) To have the matter determined without delay by a competent, independent and impartial authority or judicial body in a fair hearing according to law, in the presence of legal or other appropriate assistance and, unless it is considered not to be in the best interest of the child, in particular, taking into account his or her age or situation, his or her parents or legal guardians; 
 
 (iv) Not to be compelled to give testimony or to confess guilt; to examine or have examined adverse witnesses and to obtain the participation and examination of witnesses on his or her behalf under conditions of equality; 
 
 (v) If considered to have infringed the penal law, to have this decision and any measures imposed in consequence thereof reviewed by a higher competent, independent and impartial authority or judicial body according to law; 
 
 (vi) To have the free assistance of an interpreter if the child cannot understand or speak the language used; 
 
 (vii) To have his or her privacy fully respected at all stages of the proceedings. 
 
 3. States Parties shall seek to promote the establishment of laws, procedures, authorities and institutions specifically applicable to children alleged as, accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law, and, in particular: 
 
 (a) The establishment of a minimum age below which children shall be presumed not to have the capacity to infringe the penal law; 
 
 (b) Whenever appropriate and desirable, measures for dealing with such children without resorting to judicial proceedings, providing that human rights and legal safeguards are fully respected. 4. A variety of dispositions, such as care, guidance and supervision orders; counselling; probation; foster care; education and vocational training programmes and other alternatives to institutional care shall be available to ensure that children are dealt with in a manner appropriate to their well-being and proportionate both to their circumstances and the offence. 
 
 Article 41 
 
 Nothing in the present Convention shall affect any provisions which are more conducive to the realization of the rights of the child and which may be contained in: 
 
 (a) The law of a State party; or 
 
 (b) International law in force for that State. 
 
 PART II 
 
 Article 42 
 
 States Parties undertake to make the principles and provisions of the Convention widely known, by appropriate and active means, to adults and children alike. 
 
 Article 43 
 
 1. For the purpose of examining the progress made by States Parties in achieving the realization of the obligations undertaken in the present Convention, there shall be established a Committee on the Rights of the Child, which shall carry out the functions hereinafter provided. 
 
 2. The Committee shall consist of eighteen experts of high moral standing and recognized competence in the field covered by this Convention. 1 / The members of the Committee shall be elected by States Parties from among their nationals and shall serve in their personal capacity, consideration being given to equitable geographical distribution, as well as to the principal legal systems. 
 
 3. The members of the Committee shall be elected by secret ballot from a list of persons nominated by States Parties. Each State Party may nominate one person from among its own nationals. 
 
 4. The initial election to the Committee shall be held no later than six months after the date of the entry into force of the present Convention and thereafter every second year. At least four months before the date of each election, the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall address a letter to States Parties inviting them to submit their nominations within two months. The Secretary-General shall subsequently prepare a list in alphabetical order of all persons thus nominated, indicating States Parties which have nominated them, and shall submit it to the States Parties to the present Convention. 
 
 5. The elections shall be held at meetings of States Parties convened by the Secretary-General at United Nations Headquarters. At those meetings, for which two thirds of States Parties shall constitute a quorum, the persons elected to the Committee shall be those who obtain the largest number of votes and an absolute majority of the votes of the representatives of States Parties present and voting. 
 
 6. The members of the Committee shall be elected for a term of four years. They shall be eligible for re-election if renominated. The term of five of the members elected at the first election shall expire at the end of two years; immediately after the first election, the names of these five members shall be chosen by lot by the Chairman of the meeting. 
 
 7. If a member of the Committee dies or resigns or declares that for any other cause he or she can no longer perform the duties of the Committee, the State Party which nominated the member shall appoint another expert from among its nationals to serve for the remainder of the term, subject to the approval of the Committee. 
 
 8. The Committee shall establish its own rules of procedure. 
 
 9. The Committee shall elect its officers for a period of two years. 
 
 10. The meetings of the Committee shall normally be held at United Nations Headquarters or at any other convenient place as determined by the Committee. The Committee shall normally meet annually. The duration of the meetings of the Committee shall be determined, and reviewed, if necessary, by a meeting of the States Parties to the present Convention, subject to the approval of the General Assembly. 
 
 11. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall provide the necessary staff and facilities for the effective performance of the functions of the Committee under the present Convention. 
 
 12. With the approval of the General Assembly, the members of the Committee established under the present Convention shall receive emoluments from United Nations resources on such terms and conditions as the Assembly may decide. 
 
 Article 44 
 
 1. States Parties undertake to submit to the Committee, through the Secretary-General of the United Nations, reports on the measures they have adopted which give effect to the rights recognized herein and on the progress made on the enjoyment of those rights 
 
 (a) Within two years of the entry into force of the Convention for the State Party concerned; 
 
 (b) Thereafter every five years. 
 
 2. Reports made under the present article shall indicate factors and difficulties, if any, affecting the degree of fulfilment of the obligations under the present Convention. Reports shall also contain sufficient information to provide the Committee with a comprehensive understanding of the implementation of the Convention in the country concerned. 
 
 3. A State Party which has submitted a comprehensive initial report to the Committee need not, in its subsequent reports submitted in accordance with paragraph 1 (b) of the present article, repeat basic information previously provided. 
 
 4. The Committee may request from States Parties further information relevant to the implementation of the Convention. 
 
 5. The Committee shall submit to the General Assembly, through the Economic and Social Council, every two years, reports on its activities. 
 
 6. States Parties shall make their reports widely available to the public in their own countries. 
 
 Article 45 
 
 In order to foster the effective implementation of the Convention and to encourage international co-operation in the field covered by the Convention: 
 
 (a) The specialized agencies, the United Nations Children's Fund, and other United Nations organs shall be entitled to be represented at the consideration of the implementation of such provisions of the present Convention as fall within the scope of their mandate. The Committee may invite the specialized agencies, the United Nations Children's Fund and other competent bodies as it may consider appropriate to provide expert advice on the implementation of the Convention in areas falling within the scope of their respective mandates. The Committee may invite the specialized agencies, the United Nations Children's Fund, and other United Nations organs to submit reports on the implementation of the Convention in areas falling within the scope of their activities; 
 
 (b) The Committee shall transmit, as it may consider appropriate, to the specialized agencies, the United Nations Children's Fund and other competent bodies, any reports from States Parties that contain a request, or indicate a need, for technical advice or assistance, along with the Committee's observations and suggestions, if any, on these requests or indications; 
 
 (c) The Committee may recommend to the General Assembly to request the Secretary-General to undertake on its behalf studies on specific issues relating to the rights of the child; 
 
 (d) The Committee may make suggestions and general recommendations based on information received pursuant to articles 44 and 45 of the present Convention. Such suggestions and general recommendations shall be transmitted to any State Party concerned and reported to the General Assembly, together with comments, if any, from States Parties. 
 
 Article 46 
 
 The present Convention shall be open for signature by all States. 
 
 Article 47 
 
 The present Convention is subject to ratification. Instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. 
 
 Article 48 
 
 The present Convention shall remain open for accession by any State. The instruments of accession shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. 
 
 Article 49 
 
 1. The present Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day following the date of deposit with the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the twentieth instrument of ratification or accession. 
 
 2. For each State ratifying or acceding to the Convention after the deposit of the twentieth instrument of ratification or accession, the Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the deposit by such State of its instrument of ratification or accession. 
 
 Article 50 
 
 1. Any State Party may propose an amendment and file it with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Secretary-General shall thereupon communicate the proposed amendment to States Parties, with a request that they indicate whether they favour a conference of States Parties for the purpose of considering and voting upon the proposals. In the event that, within four months from the date of such communication, at least one third of the States Parties favour such a conference, the Secretary-General shall convene the conference under the auspices of the United Nations. Any amendment adopted by a majority of States Parties present and voting at the conference shall be submitted to the General Assembly for approval. 
 
 2. An amendment adopted in accordance with paragraph 1 of the present article shall enter into force when it has been approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations and accepted by a two-thirds majority of States Parties. 
 
 3. When an amendment enters into force, it shall be binding on those States Parties which have accepted it, other States Parties still being bound by the provisions of the present Convention and any earlier amendments which they have accepted. 
 
 Article 51 
 
 1. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall receive and circulate to all States the text of reservations made by States at the time of ratification or accession. 
 
 2. A reservation incompatible with the object and purpose of the present Convention shall not be permitted. 
 
 3. Reservations may be withdrawn at any time by notification to that effect addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall then inform all States. Such notification shall take effect on the date on which it is received by the Secretary-General 
 
 Article 52 
 
 A State Party may denounce the present Convention by written notification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Denunciation becomes effective one year after the date of receipt of the notification by the Secretary-General. 
 
 Article 53 
 
 The Secretary-General of the United Nations is designated as the depositary of the present Convention. 
 
 Article 54 
 
 The original of the present Convention, of which the Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. In witness thereof the undersigned plenipotentiaries, being duly authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have signed the present Convention. 
 
 _________ 
 
 1/ The General Assembly, in its resolution 50/155 of 21 December 1995 , approved the amendment to article 43, paragraph 2, of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, replacing the word “ten” with the word “eighteen”. The amendment entered into force on 18 November 2002 when it had been accepted by a two-thirds majority of the States parties (128 out of 191). ||||| Mahsa is 17. She fell in love with a boy and intended to marry him, but her father was against the marriage. One day she had an argument with her father, got angry, and killed him with a kitchen knife. Mahsa’s brothers are requesting the death penalty for her 
 
 
 
 Photograph: Words and pictures from Waiting for Capital Punishment, by Sadegh Souri
– More than 20 years ago, Iran promised it would stop executing convicts under the age of 18. But a new report by Amnesty International shows that not only has the practice continued into the present day—it's given Iran the dubious distinction of being "one of the leading executioners of juvenile offenders," the New York Times reports. At least 73 youngsters have been executed in Iran between 2005 and 2015, per the report, and at least 160 juveniles are now on the country's death row, and those are probably conservative numbers (the report notes actual figures are probably higher but unknown because info about the death penalty is "shrouded in secrecy"). And it's apparently much worse for girls than for boys, a deputy director for the group says. "Iran continues to lag behind the rest of the world, maintaining laws that permit girls as young as 9 and boys as young as 15 to be sentenced to death," says Said Boumedouha. This in spite of supposedly significant changes to the country's Islamic Penal Code—changes meant to offer judges "alternative punishments" to the death penalty when juveniles are involved. In fact, the need for those changes in the first place shows what a dismal failure Iran has been in dealing with this issue, since in 1994 it ratified its participation in the UN's Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that "neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment without possibility of release shall be imposed [on] … persons below 18 years of age." "The report debunks recent attempts by Iran's authorities to whitewash their continuing violations of children's rights and deflect criticism of their appalling record as one of the world's last executioners of juvenile offenders," the Amnesty report reads. (The Guardian features heartbreaking photos of female juveniles in Iranian prisons.)