{"id":6997,"date":"2017-02-06T08:26:28","date_gmt":"2017-02-06T13:26:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/?p=6997"},"modified":"2017-02-06T08:26:28","modified_gmt":"2017-02-06T13:26:28","slug":"flogging-and-eye-gouging-are-among-irans-medieval-punishments-for-morality-violations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/6997\/","title":{"rendered":"Flogging and Eye-Gouging Are Among Iran\u2019s Medieval Punishments for \u2018Morality\u2019 Violations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Algemeiner, February 3, 2017<\/strong> – Despite the many flaws in the nuclear deal with Iran, Tehran\u2019s nuclear program has been curbed. Yet at what cost? As the new Trump administration realizes, the Islamic Republic is still a major violator of the human rights of its people.
\nThe regime\u2019s continued practice of \u201ccruel and inhuman punishments, including floggings, amputations and forced blinding over the past year, exposes the authorities\u2019 utterly brutal sense of justice,\u201d Amnesty International reported, continuing to express concern over executions in Iran, all of which highlight how Iran\u2019s so-called justice system, by legalizing such brutality, has no sense of humanity.
\nWell into the 21st century, such an aggressive approach vis-\u00e0-vis human dignity is quite appalling, to say the least, and deserves serious attention, as Iran continues to neglect, and violate, international prohibitions issued against torture and other abuse.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

New York Times Offers \u2018Alternative Facts\u2019 On Iran Missile Test<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

A New York Times editorial headlined \u201cNew Tensions With Iran\u201d discusses a recent Iranian missile test and the Trump administration\u2019s…
\nThe regime\u2019s so-called \u201claws\u201d provide for flogging as punishment for 100 different \u201coffences.\u201d Many flogging victims are protesters under the age of 35, arrested for activities considered protected under internationally recognized rights for freedom of association, belief, expression and religion. Yet Iran is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), making it legally bound not to engage in \u201ccruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.\u201d
\nNevertheless, its obligations have been completely ignored by Tehran, with its penalties for crimes regularly including stoning to death \u2014 under the ridiculous claim of \u201cprotecting religious morals.\u201d Such a horrific practice proves this regime knows nothing of Islam, or of any other religion, for that matter.
\nJournalists and bloggers in Iran are also subject to flogging for practicing their freedom of speech rights. One member of the press was sentenced to a ruthless 459 lashes for what the regime\u2019s ruling described as \u201cpublishing lies\u201d and \u201ccreating unease in the public mind\u201d through his work.
\nEven women have received lashings for attending mixed-gender parties \u2013 considered banned under the mullahs\u2019 sick interpretation of Islam \u2013 after being caught at such gatherings by Iran\u2019s so-called \u201cmorality police.\u201d Indeed, authorities are known to storm parties and beat attendees prior to their being brought to police stations, where they are insulted, interrogated and tortured. Such individuals usually receive 74 lashes and spend three nights behind bars.
\nWhile flogging remains a highly practiced method by the mullahs, Amnesty International also reported on a case in which a man\u2019s eyes were forcibly gouged out \u2014 in a punishment known as an \u201ceye for an eye\u201d retribution \u2014 a horrible fate many imprisoned individuals face.
\nOther of Iran\u2019s medieval practices include \u201ccross amputations\u201d for thieves, whose fingers and toes are cut off unevenly on either side of their bodies.
\nIt is worth noting here that all of the above atrocities were recorded in 2016, well into the tenure of President Hassan Rouhani <\/a>, ironically dubbed as a \u201cmoderate\u201d and\/or \u201creformist.\u201d Rouhani, in fact, has presided over nearly 3,000 executions, surpassing any recent records set by his predecessors, including firebrand Mahmoud Ahmadinejad <\/a>.
\nAhmed Shaheed, former United Nations <\/a> special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, voiced his concerns in a report revealing that Iranian authorities in 2015 alone sent to the gallows 966-1,054 people, four of whom were under the age of 18.
\nJust over a month into the new year, the trend is in full swing.
\n\u201cThe execution of at least 57 prisoners, mostly youths, has been registered in Iran since the beginning of 2017. Twenty of the victims were hanged on January 14,\u201d according to a statement issued by Iranian opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran ( NCRI <\/a>), an umbrella group of dissidents, including the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK).
\nNCRI President Maryam Rajavi <\/a> has long called for a firm stance on\u00a0 Iran\u2019s long slate of human rights violations, most importantly referring Iran\u2019s dossier to the U.N. Security Council.
\n\u201cThe Iranian Resistance declared years ago that it calls for abolition of the death penalty and an end to torture and all forms of rights abuses in Iran,\u201d Rajavi says.<\/p>\n

Heshmat Alavi is a political and rights activist. His writing focuses on Iran, ranging from human rights violations, social crackdown, the regime\u2019s support for terrorism and meddling in foreign countries, and the controversial nuclear program.<\/span> <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Algemeiner, February 3, 2017 – Despite the many flaws in the nuclear deal with Iran, Tehran\u2019s nuclear program has been curbed. Yet at what cost? […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6998,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-human-rights","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6997"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6999,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6997\/revisions\/6999"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}