Iran: Flogging still a common practice

Flogging of Sufis in Gonabad: Fourteen Ne’matollahi dervishes received 25 lashes each for allegedly disturbing the public security

"The lash ruling against 14 Ne'matollahi dervishes of Gonabad was carried out. They were residents of Baydokht and had been arrested and condemned by the Public Prosecutor of Gonabad after a protest against the illegal treatment dealing with the Sufis in June of last year [2010].

According to the website of Majzuban-e-Nur, Mr. Sa'id Kashani, Mr. Amir Roshan-Mojaver-Sufi, Mr. Alimohammad Amanian, Mr. Ruhollah Safari, Mr. Ali Abbasi-Baydokhti, Mr. Ebrahim Abbaszadeh, Mr. Mohammadali Ja'fari, Mr. Hossein Mahdavi, Mr. Hossein Abbaszadeh-Baydokhti, Mr. Rahmat Hosseini, Mr. Reza Kakhki, Mr. Behruz Mojaver-Sufi, Mr. Ali Mir, and Mr. Hassan Baluchi-Baydokhti are the fourteen dervishes whose requests were not only rejected, but who were condemned to 25 lashes for disturbing the public security.

It should be mentioned that Ruhollah Safari, the last dervish who had avoided going to the court for the sentence execution, told the agents who came for him: ‘if you want to torture me, you can use force and arrest me.' Following the resistance by this dervish, agents handcuffed and arrested him, and carried out the lash ruling against him.

It should be remembered that these dervishes were condemned to 25 lashes and 91 days suspended imprisonment for disturbing the public order by gathering in front of the courthouse and the prison in Gonabad. The rulings were confirmed by the Appeals Court."

Source: Human Rights and Democracy in Iran, June 23, 2011

Flogging in Tabriz: Three individuals received 20 lashes each for protesting against the dryness of Lake Orumieh

"The ruling of 20 lashes and paying a fine of 300 thousand Tomans issued by the Tabriz court against three detained activists, who had protested the dryness of Lake Orumieh, was carried out on June 15, 2011.

Security forces had arrested about 70 individuals during a gathering protesting the dryness of Lake Orumieh on April 2, 2011. Five of the detainees, Habib Purvali, Jalil Alamdar-Milani, Hojat Mokhtarzadeh, Ali Salimi, and Sa'id Siami, had been charged with ‘collusion and gathering to commit crimes against security' and ‘disrupting public order'.

During an interview with Radio Farda, Musa Barzin- Khalifehlu, the attorney for these five civil [disobedient] activists, confirmed that the ruling of lashings and paying the fines was carried out against Jalil Alamdar-Milani, Ali Salimi, and Sa'id Siami after three months detention and culminated in their release. However, Purvali and Mokhtarzadeh are still detained."

Source: Human Rights and Democracy in Iran, June 16, 2011

Corporal Punishment: The Legal context in the Islamic Republic of Iran

The Islamic Republic's criminal code recognizes corporal punishment for a wide range of offenses: consumption of alcohol, theft, adultery, "flouting" of public morals, and mixing of the sexes in public.

Judges have the latitude to mete out corporal punishment for those sentenced to death. In such cases, the flogging is carried out before death to maximize the suffering of defendant.

Aside from flogging, the Islamic Republic also employs amputations as a punishment for theft. In such cases, the defendant is taken to a hospital and put under anesthesia as his hand or foot is amputated.

In some cases the left foot and right hand are cut off, making it difficult for the condemned to walk, even with the assistance of a cane or crutches.

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde

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