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for Human Rights in Iran

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Flogging

Flogging, Shams Ol Moluk Hamidi, Qaderi, Unidentified Individual, Qazvin, Qoqnus, December 9, 2007 - 1982

Qoqnus
December 9, 2007
Web article

Qonus

December 9, 2007

Report

The Story of Susen's Flogging in Qazvin

For some time now, a strange and nostalgic feeling has led me to reread my diary from the 1980s. It tells the story of events, happenings, and incidents in the field of politics, many of which may still not be published. Last night, as I was reviewing the events of 1982, I came across the story of the flogging of "Susen," a famous pre-revolutionary singer, in Qazvin.

A story whose description is worth listening to (and of course reading)...

Shams Ol Moluk Hamidi, known as "Susen," who was one of the famous singers of the Lalehzar cafes in Tehran, and who also played roles in several Persian films before the revolution, remained in Iran after the victory of the revolution. In 1982, when she was planning a few days' trip in the north of the country with two of her friends, including Abbas Qaderi (brother of Iraj Qaderi/famous actor and film director), she was arrested on the Qazvin-Rasht road by the Komiteh guards stationed in Aqa Baba. The Komiteh officers investigating the BMW car carrying Susen found one or two bottles of alcohol and some drugs, and they referred the three occupants of the car along with a case file to the Qazvin Revolutionary Court; finally, the court, in adjudicating the case of Susen and her friends, sentenced them to public flogging on charges of illicit relations and carrying alcoholic beverages and drugs.

While this news was apparently not intended to be published publicly, I do not know how the news of the implementation of Susen’s flogging sentence spread in Qazvin, and from 10 A.M. on the Friday when the sentence was to be implemented in front of the Al Nabi Mosque (the place where Friday prayers were held), nearly three thousand people, mostly young people, gathered on Imam Street and in front of the Bazaar. Although the authorities tried to disperse these people by resorting to another rumor or to guide them into the mosque, it was ineffective.

At 12:30 P.M., when the trailer was moved in front of the Bazaar, the crowd became convinced that the news of the implementation of the flogging sentence was true, and the crowd was eager to attack!! It made work difficult for the Komiteh officers. Finally, after the end of the Friday prayer ceremony, a Komiteh car was able to clear the road and transport Susen and the two other convicts from the Molavi Intersection (the Bazaar) to the trailer parked in front of the Aqa Seyed Ali Mosque, and thus their flogging was implemented in front of the large crowd.

Susen, who was wearing a black chador, was immediately transferred after the implementation of the flogging sentence from the scene to the central headquarters of the Komiteh, released an hour later, and she returned to Tehran. She left Iran in 1983 and died a few years later in Los Angeles, USA, after contracting an illness.

ABF Note

 

Findings of guilt in the Islamic Republic of Iran's Judicial Proceedings

The Islamic Republic of Iran's criminal justice system regularly falls short of the standards for due process necessary for impartiality, fairness, and efficacy. Suspects are often held incommunicado and not told of the reason for their detainment. Defendants are frequently prohibited from examining the evidence used against them. Defendants are sometimes prohibited from having their lawyers present in court. Additionally, confessions, made under duress or torture, are commonly admitted as proof of guilt. Because Iran's courts regularly disregard principles essential to the proper administration of justice, findings of guilt may not be evaluated with certainty.

Corporal Punishment: the Legal context in the Islamic Republic of Iran

The Islamic Republic's criminal code recognizes corporal punishment for a wide range of offenses: consumption of alcohol, theft, adultery, "flouting" of public morals, and mixing of the sexes in public. Judges have the latitude to mete out corporal punishment for those sentenced to death. In such cases, the flogging is carried out before death to maximize the suffering of defendant. Aside from flogging, the Islamic Republic also employs amputations as a punishment for theft. In such cases, the defendant is taken to a hospital and put under anesthesia as his hand or foot is amputated. In some cases the left foot and right hand are cut off, making it difficult for the condemned to walk, even with the assistance of a cane or crutches.

The Islamic Republic's Systematic Violation of its International Obligations under International Law

The use of corporal punishment is contrary to international law and is addressed in several international agreements. Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Iran has ratified, states that, "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." Identical language is also used in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Iran is also a party to. The strongest expression of international disapproval is contained in the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). This treaty defines torture as, "any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as ... punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed." Although the Islamic Republic of Iran has yet to sign the CAT, the prohibition on torture is now considered jus cogens and, therefore, part of customary international law. Furthermore, even though the norm against corporal punishment is not yet a jus cogens, there is increasing evidence that it is illegal under international human rights law.[1] In Osbourne v. Jamaica, the Committee Against Torture (a body of experts responsible for monitoring compliance with the Convention) held that "corporal punishment constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment contrary to Article 7 of the Convention." The Islamic Republic of Iran's systematic violations of its obligations under international law have been addressed by the UN General Assembly multiple times, most recently in December 2007. In Resolution 62/168, the UN expressed deep concern with Iran's continued flouting of international human rights law, particularly, "confirmed instances of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including flogging and amputations."