An Iranian man guilty of 28 cases of theft had his fingers cut off in prison in Sari, Mazandaran province, the local Justice Department announced on Wednesday.
“The policy of Mazandaran’s Justice Department is severe and indiscriminate punishment for people who disrupt public security and order,” a state-run news agency said, according to the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran.
The man reportedly confessed to 28 cases of theft.
The execution has aroused outrage among human rights organizations. Amnesty International issued a statement the next day wherein Deputy Middle East and North Africa Director said:
“Reforms to Iran’s penal code that would put an end to this outrageous practice are long overdue. Iranian parliamentarians must immediately undertake reforms to abolish all forms of corporal punishment and move towards a criminal justice system that treats prisoners humanely and focuses on rehabilitation.”
Last year, Amnesty International lashed out at the Iran regime for flailing a fledgling for drinking alcohol, The Epoch Times reported.
Iran Criticized for Flogging Man Convicted for Drinking Alcohol as a Teen
Amnesty International is accusing Iran’s justice system of showing a “shocking disregard for basic humanity” by publicly flogging a man because 10 years ago he drank alcohol at a wedding.
The man, who was identified only as M.R., got 80 lashes in Kashmar in July last year, the human rights organization stated.
“The circumstances of this case are absolutely shocking, representing another horrific example of the Iranian authorities’ warped priorities,” Philip Luther, of Amnesty, said in a statement. “No one, regardless of age, should be subjected to flogging; that a child was prosecuted for consuming alcohol and sentenced to 80 lashes beggars belief.”
The organization published a photo of a man with red welts on his back as he was tied to a tree. A masked man wearing all-black is seen holding what appears to be a whip. A crowd is gathered around.
The man consumed alcohol during a wedding more than a decade ago, Amnesty said. “The flogging sentence was issued 10 years ago,” the group said, adding that it isn’t clear “why the sentence was carried out after over a decade.” Under Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, a Muslim drinking alcohol should be punished by 80 lashes.
Epoch Times reporter Jack Phillips contributed to this report
