Human Rights Defenders Criticize Whipping of Journalists in Iran

The Human Rights Defenders Association criticized the issuance and execution of whipping sentences for journalists, describing it as 'suppressing the character of journalists.' This human rights organization, led by Shirin Ebadi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, noted in its monthly report on the human rights situation in Iran for the month of Dey that there has been severe strictness in issuing whipping sentences for journalists. It added: 'The judge has had the legal authority to issue different punishments based on the character of the accused, the type of crime, and the quality of the offense.' The Hemdeli newspaper reported on January 19 that 'Hosseini Mohammadi, a journalist for Najafabad News, was sentenced to 40 lashes on June 15 for mistakenly reporting the number of motorcycles seized by the police,' and this sentence was executed on January 5. The newspaper added that this journalist 'published a report about the seizure of 35 motorcycles belonging to students of a vocational school in this city, and subsequently, according to specific press laws, included the response from the relevant authority in his news portal, which stated that the number of these vehicles was eight. However, it was reported that the whipping sentence was executed on January 5.' Abolfazl Abutalebi, a representative from Najafabad in the parliament, also confirmed the whipping of this journalist, stating that 'following the issuance of the whipping sentence for this journalist, extensive consultations were held with the managers of the complaining authority at the county and even provincial levels by various officials, and it was supposed that, considering the written commitment of the journalist, the execution of this sentence would be prevented, but unfortunately, this individual was arrested and punished.' The Human Rights Defenders Association wrote in its report: 'The judiciary has shown that, as in the past, it is influenced by security and police institutions in handling cases related to journalists and writers, and lacks independence.' This human rights organization added: 'With the provision of alternative punishments in Islamic penal law, and considering the ruling of the General Assembly of the Supreme Court regarding the application of alternative punishments, the court had at least some leeway in this case to use alternative punishments for issuing a sentence.' The Human Rights Defenders Association also referred to the sentencing of the manager of the local site 'Shahrud News' to 40 lashes, stating: 'These days, the issuance and execution of whipping sentences for journalists, including the whipping sentence for the manager of a local site, is considered a new occurrence that signifies the suppression of journalists' character.' Previously, Amnesty International condemned Iran's increasing use of physical punishments, such as whipping, amputation, and blinding, on January 20, referring to the execution of the 40 lashes sentence for Hosseini Mohammadi, a journalist for Najaf News. This organization also called on the Islamic Republic of Iran to immediately halt all forms of physical punishment. According to this organization, Tehran must repair its 'severely flawed' judicial system in accordance with global human rights laws and standards. Earlier, the 'Atre Yas' newspaper published in Saveh reported on June 20 about the sentencing of a journalist and blogger to 444 lashes by a court in Saveh, which drew protests from Reporters Without Borders. The execution of whipping sentences has previously been carried out against workers and labor activists. The latest example of this was the whipping of 17 dismissed workers from the Agh Dareh gold mine in West Azerbaijan province, which led to widespread protests and resulted in expressions of regret from the government spokesperson and the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare. Nevertheless, the judiciary spokesperson defended the execution of these sentences.