NCRI – A citizen was whipped in public by the mullahs' judiciary in the holy city of Qom on Friday.
A 25-year-old man was tied to a bench and received 70 lashes. Local residents protested the sentence especially when the man's last name was also exposed by the local judge assigned to enforce the verdict.
In an interview broadcast on state TV on June 25, 2008 in the evening program, the head of the Iranian regime's Judicial Authority complained that "many Iranian judges, influenced by western propaganda and fearing they will be accused of failing to respect human rights, are not sentencing offenders to effective penalties like public flogging".
"Public flogging is one of most just sentences that can be inflicted on someone who has committed a crime," said Shahroudi.
"The publication of photos and news of public floggings is the best deterrent, while three or four months in prison has no effect," he said.
"We must reduce prison sentences and make use of public flogging more to punish offenders."
In May, the rights group Amnesty International urged Iranian courts to suspend flogging sentences.
"Flogging is a form of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, which amounts to torture," the organization said.
Amnesty said it was outlawed under Article 7 of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.