Washington, DC; June 4, 2016 – Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC-US) condemns medieval punishment of innocent youth by Iranian government judiciary. On May 25, 2016; Iranian’s authorities flogged 35 young men & women in Qazvin province ostensibly as punishment for participating in a post graduation party. An increase in violent forms of punishment in Iran has especially been remarkable during and after the much-touted Comprehensive Joint Plan of Action (CJPOA).
Sadeq Niaraki, the prosecutor of Qazvin boasted for example that, “In less than 24 hours, the process for interrogation, investigation, trial, sentencing, and implementation of the sentences was accomplished” to “serve as a lesson to those who breach the social norms.” Each student received 99 lashes. Despite hopes of moderation, such cruel and unusual punishment for violation of regime’s primitive and forcefully imposed, “social norms” are again increasing in Iran. Similar roundups have also been reported in the cities of Neishapour, Kerman, and Sarkhord, during which at least 141 young men and women were detained.
Additionally, Iran continues to deny its prisoners of conscience the most basic of human rights. Authorities in notorious Evin prison, for instance, have banned all forms of written communiqué among female prisoners and their families.
Iranian regime has for more than 3 & ½ decades administered sharia law and used it to subject Iranians to cruel and unusual punishment. A notable increase in number of executions, additional pressure on the incarcerated, and a hysterical but violent response to supposed violations of Iranian government’s barbaric social norms, must forever shelve hopes of its moderation.
With duplicitous and disingenuous diplomacy, Hassan Rouhani’s government has attempted to focus international attention away from its internal vulnerability and illegitimacy. But the increase in persecution and execution of the Iranian populous during his reign point to a weakened and bankrupt regime whose survival is maintained only through the barrel of its guns. The latter is simply not sustainable, a fact obviously known to the regime itself. It is now time for liberal democracies of the West to also grasp this fact, give up hopes of regime moderation, and instead support the Iranian resistance.
