PUBLIC AI Index:MDE 13/035/2001 6 September 2001 UA 223/01 Imminent flogging IRAN 11 young males, including minors The Iranian newspaper Qods today reported that 11 young males, aged between 14 and 25, are soon to be publicly flogged in Mashhad for alcohol-related offences. No date was given for when the sentences will be carried out. Amnesty International considers the punishment of flogging to constitute cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment amounting to torture, in contravention of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Iran is a state party. This year alone, the organisation has recorded 240 floggings as having been carried out in Iran, although true figures may be much higher. On 10 August, a medical writing action (MDE 13/028/2001) was issued in which Amnesty International members wrote to the Iranian authorities expressing their concern at the dramatic increase in use of public floggings in Iran. The use of flogging against under-18 year olds is also prohibited by other human rights instruments including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Iran is also a state party. Under Article 37 of the Convention, "States Parties shall ensure that: (a) No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English or your own language: - expressing concern at newspaper reports that 11 youths are to be publicly flogged and calling for the sentences not to be carried out; - expressing concern that some of these 11 youths are internationally recognized as minors, and that the imposition of flogging against them violates the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the ICCPR, to both of which Iran is a state party; APPEALS TO: Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei c/o The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Telegrams: Ayatollah Khamenei, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Salutation: Your Excellency President His Excellency Hojjatoleslam Sayed Mohammad Khatami The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Telegrams: President Khatami, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Faxes: + 98 21 649 5880 E-mails: khatami@president.ir Salutation: Your Excellency Head of the Judiciary His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi Ministry of Justice Park-e Shahr Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Telegrams: Head of Judiciary, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Faxes: + 98 21 537 8827 (number may be unreliable. A recorded message, in English, will indicate when to send fax - please send before it gives you the tone to leave a voice message) Salutation: Your Excellency COPIES TO: Director, Organisation for Defending Victims of Violence PO Box 16765-911, Tehran, Iran Faxes: + 98 21 653 091 E-mail: odvv@neda.net and to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country. IRANS AMBASSAD BOX 6031 181 06 LIDINGÖ FAX 08-765 31 19 PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 18 October 2001 Source: Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street, WC1X 8DJ, London, United Kingdom

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