Tehran (AsiaNews/Agencies) – A 25-year-old man was flogged in public 80 times for drinking alcohol when he was underage about ten years ago.
The sentence highlights the inhumanity of a justice system that legalises brutality, said Amnesty International today.
Last Tuesday, the man, known only by the initials M R, was tied to a tree in Niazmand Square, in Kashmar, Razavi Khorasan province, and flogged by a masked man in front of scores of witnesses.
Article 265 of Iran's Islamic penal code states that the right punishment for consumption of alcohol by a Muslim is 80 lashes.
More than 100 other offences are similarly punishable, including theft, assault, vandalism, defamation and fraud, as well as adultery, intimate relationships between unmarried men and women, "breach of public morals" and consensual same-sex sexual relations.
“The circumstances of this case are absolutely shocking, representing another horrific example of the Iranian authorities’ warped priorities. No one, regardless of age, should be subjected to flogging,” said Philip Luther, Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
