Approval of Heavy Penalties for Child-Related Crimes in Iran's Judicial Commission

The spokesperson for the Judicial and Legal Commission of the Iranian Parliament announced the approval of Article 12 of the "Protection of Children and Adolescents' Rights" bill, which stipulates a prison sentence of 10 to 15 years for the trafficking of children. Hassan Norouzi told the "House of Nation" website that this provision was approved in a session on Tuesday, September 7. Article 12 prohibits the buying and selling of children and imposes a sixth-degree punishment for offenders. This article also establishes a fifth-degree punishment for the trafficking of children for purposes of "prostitution, pornography, organ harvesting, and using children or adolescents in criminal activities." The fifth-degree punishment under the Islamic Penal Code includes "more than two to five years" of imprisonment, fines, and social rights deprivation for more than five to 15 years for offenders. The sixth-degree punishment includes "more than six months to two years" of imprisonment, fines, and social rights deprivation for more than six months to five years. This level of punishment for child trafficking in Iran was determined following an increase in this social issue in the country and was approved in one of the legal and judicial commissions. In its session on Tuesday, the commission also approved Articles 13 and 14 of the "Protection of Children and Adolescents' Rights" bill. Article 13 stipulates a third-degree punishment for child and adolescent traffickers, while Article 14 states that "if a person causes the transfer, buying, selling, or trafficking of a child's or adolescent's organs, they will be sentenced to a third-degree punishment." The third-degree punishment includes imprisonment for more than 10 to 15 years and fines exceeding 360 million to 550 million rials. Norouzi also reported the approval of another article in the Judicial and Legal Commission that imposes penalties on individuals who "facilitate the suicide of a child or adolescent through coercion, threats, encouragement, deception, or other means." According to this article, "if actions lead to the suicide of a child or adolescent, the offender will be sentenced to a fifth-degree punishment." This article also anticipates that "if the actions result in the suicide or physical and psychological harm to a child or adolescent, the offender will be sentenced to a second-degree punishment." The second-degree punishment includes imprisonment for more than 15 to 25 years and fines exceeding 550 million to one billion rials. The increase in suicide rates among adolescents and students in Iran is another social issue in the country, with numerous reports of such incidents occurring in cities and villages published annually in the media. In January 2016, two newspapers in Iran warned of "educational and familial collapse" in the country, reporting an increase in suicide rates among Iranian students. The "Rozan" newspaper implied that the suicide of 111 children in Iran between 2002 and 2004 was due to their "humiliation" in schools and criticized the Iranian educational system. The "Jahan San'at" newspaper also reported on January 14 about "the suicides of several students and children under 16 in various cities across the country." According to official institutions and authorities, the suicide rate in Iran is reportedly increasing, and its scope has extended to children. Ahmad Shojaei, the head of the country's forensic medicine organization, announced on August 17, 2014, that the number of suicides in Iran during 2013 was 4,055.