Support from Judiciary Spokesperson and Basij for the Implementation of Whipping Sentences for 35 Students

The spokesperson for the Judiciary has deemed the implementation of whipping sentences for 35 students in Qazvin as 'legal,' and the Basij of the provincial broadcasting organization has also supported such rulings. Meanwhile, an official from the Ministry of Labor was dismissed due to 'unawareness' of the whipping sentence for 17 workers. The execution of whipping sentences for 35 male and female students for participating in a 'mixed party' in Qazvin, along with the whipping sentences for 17 protesting workers in West Azerbaijan, has faced significant protests and criticisms in Iran. In response to these protests, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the Judiciary, stated on Wednesday, June 1, regarding the whipping of 35 students that 'this ruling is completely in accordance with the judicial procedure.' Mr. Mohseni Ejei added that the Judiciary has 'evidence and indications' showing that 'the parties held in several provinces were directed by a specific current.' He mentioned an individual who attended three parties in 'Saadat Abad' Tehran, 'Mashhad,' and 'Mazandaran,' claiming these parties were 'guided.' In the 'mixed party' in the Saadat Abad area of Tehran, as reported by the 'Mizan' news agency affiliated with the Judiciary on May 4, 'seven famous cinema actors' were arrested and released on bail. Nabiollah Mosalemi, head of the Protection and Information Center of the Judiciary in Mazandaran province, also reported on May 15 that more than 15 lawyers were arrested in a 'night party' in the city of Sorkhroud Mahmoudabad in this province. Ismail Sadeqi Niaki, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Qazvin, also reported last week the arrest of 35 young girls and boys in Qazvin for attending a party and their immediate punishment with 99 lashes. The Judiciary spokesperson also stated that 'the guides of these parties are a group or a current,' and intelligence systems should investigate this matter. Meanwhile, the Basij media organization of Qazvin province issued a statement supporting the implementation of the whipping sentences for the 35 male and female students, labeling them as 'thugs and rascals.' The statement, published on the official website of the Qazvin IRGC, stated that 'holding night parties in gardens and villas around Qazvin has been one of the problems that has repeatedly affected the people of Qazvin.' The statement also mentioned: 'Many families have always demanded action against norm violators in this area {Qazvin}, and the recent action by the Qazvin prosecutor against 35 thugs and rascals is a clear example of attention to this public demand.' Dismissal of a government official following the whipping of workers The Judiciary and part of the IRGC in Qazvin have defended the implementation of these sentences, while Reza Naqizadeh, the director of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare in West Azerbaijan province, was dismissed for 'unawareness' of the implementation of the whipping sentence for 17 workers at the Agh-Dareh gold mine. The Iranian Labor News Agency, ILNA, reported this news citing an 'informed source,' adding that Ali Rabiei, the Minister of Labor of Iran, issued the dismissal order for this director. At the end of May this year, 17 workers at the Agh-Dareh gold mine in West Azerbaijan were whipped by court order, and some of them were also imprisoned. The sentences for these workers relate to a protest by about 350 workers at this mine in 2014, which was issued based on a complaint from Pouya Zarkan, the main contractor of the Agh-Dareh gold mine. The Coordination Council of Islamic Labor Councils of East Azerbaijan province and the Association of Labor Unions issued a joint statement condemning the implementation of the whipping sentences for the 17 workers. In this context, 'the whip of the employer and the judge on the backs of the demanding workers' has been protested by two labor organizations against the implementation of the whipping sentences for the 17 workers. The Human Rights Commission condemned the recent whippings in Iran.