Abdorrahman Boroumand Center

for Human Rights in Iran

https://www.iranrights.org
Promoting tolerance and justice through knowledge and understanding
Flogging

Flogging, 5 Individuals, Tehran, Kayhan, September 5, 1996

Kayhan
September 5, 1996
Newspaper article

Kayhan Newspaper/Microfilm

September 5, 1996

Page 15/Incidents

Brigadier General Abolfathi, Commander of Greater Tehran Police District, Announced

5 Thugs from East Tehran Flogged at Crime Scene

5 thugs were arrested by police officers in east Tehran. By order of the judicial authority, these individuals were flogged at the scene of the crime.

Brigadier General Yusef Reza Abolfathi, commander of Greater Tehran police district, told our correspondent regarding this: During the course of thiss week, 5 thugs from east Tehran were arrested by the officers of east Tehran Police District.

He added: While patrolling Golestan Street in Fadak Park, the officers of the 27th district realized that a person in an unbalanced and drunken state was disturbing people. The aforementioned person was arrested, and after checking the records, it was found that his name is Mohammad Reza Soleimani and he has a record of drunkenness, drinking alcohol, and troubling people.

He was sentenced to 75 lashes in public and a fine of 2 million Rials according to the verdict of the aforementioned judicial authority.

Brigadier General Abolfathi said: The defendant was flogged at the scene of the crime (Fadak Park) and went to prison for not being able to pay the fine.

He added that the officers of the 28th East District also arrested three people named Javad Sharifi, Davud Qoreishi and Mohammad Qoreishi on charges of hooliganism.

He said: The last two defendants, who are brothers, are butchers on Piruzi Street. They were walking in the street with half-naked bodies and disturbing people's lives. They were arrested by the officers of the 28th district.

The defendants were tried and by order of the judge, a fine of 10 million tomans was issued for each of them. They were also sentenced to 35 lashes, which was implemented in public in Piruzi Street, 21 meters, Dehqan.

The commander of the Greater Tehran police district said: Another one of these people named "Hossein Ab Sablan" was arrested by patrol officers in a drunken state in Tehran Pars’s Bahar Street; after drinking alcohol, he had begun to cause trouble for people and residents of the area, after his arrest, he was sentenced to 50 lashes by the judicial authority.

His sentence was announced yesterday and he was flogged in public at the scene of the crime.

In conclusion, Brigadier General Abolfathi thanked the judges of the Narmak and Resalat judicial complexes for their cooperation in issuing decisive verdicts for these people.

ABF Note

 

Findings of guilt in the Islamic Republic of Iran's Judicial Proceedings

The Islamic Republic of Iran's criminal justice system regularly falls short of the standards for due process necessary for impartiality, fairness, and efficacy. Suspects are often held incommunicado and not told of the reason for their detainment. Defendants are frequently prohibited from examining the evidence used against them. Defendants are sometimes prohibited from having their lawyers present in court. Additionally, confessions, made under duress or torture, are commonly admitted as proof of guilt. Because Iran's courts regularly disregard principles essential to the proper administration of justice, findings of guilt may not be evaluated with certainty.

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.

The Islamic Republic's Systematic Violation of its International Obligations under International Law

The use of corporal punishment is contrary to international law and is addressed in several international agreements. Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Iran has ratified, states that, "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." Identical language is also used in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Iran is also a party to. The strongest expression of international disapproval is contained in the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). This treaty defines torture as, "any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as ... punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed." Although the Islamic Republic of Iran has yet to sign the CAT, the prohibition on torture is now considered jus cogens and, therefore, part of customary international law. Furthermore, even though the norm against corporal punishment is not yet a jus cogens, there is increasing evidence that it is illegal under international human rights law.[1] In Osbourne v. Jamaica, the Committee Against Torture (a body of experts responsible for monitoring compliance with the Convention) held that "corporal punishment constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment contrary to Article 7 of the Convention." The Islamic Republic of Iran's systematic violations of its obligations under international law have been addressed by the UN General Assembly multiple times, most recently in December 2007. In Resolution 62/168, the UN expressed deep concern with Iran's continued flouting of international human rights law, particularly, "confirmed instances of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including flogging and amputations."