Iranian man flogged 80 times for drinking at wedding over a decade ago

Amnesty International comes down hard on incident, terms punishment 'beyond comprehension'

A man was lashed 80 times for consuming alcohol at a wedding ceremony back when he was teenager more than a decade ago in Iran, The Sun reported.

A photo shows the man tied to a tree in Niazmand Square, Kashmar, as he is flogged publicly.

The crowd watches on as the whip tears away his flesh.

Amnesty International castigated the corporal punishment which was carried out for a 'crime' which took place when he was 14.

"The circumstances of this case are absolutely shocking. No one should be subjected to flogging,"the human rights group's spokesperson Philip Luther said.

"That a child was prosecuted for drinking and then being sentenced to 80 lashes is beyond comprehension," he added.



Amnesty found out the man consumed alcohol during at an event back in 2007.

The public prosecutor of Kashmar said a scuffle at the wedding resulted in a 17-year-old being killed.

He accepted that the man flogged had no connection to the death and his punishment was purely for consuming the beverage.

His flogging sentence was also issued 10 years ago somewhere between March 2007 and 2008.

Iranian authorities conducted various forms of cruel punishments in 2018, including amputating a man's hand for theft.

"The use of cruel punishments such as flogging, amputation and blinding are an appalling assault on human dignity. It's unacceptable Iranian authorities allow such punishments and to justify them in the name of protecting religious morals," Luther said.

Back in 2016, an Iranian woman disclosed the injuries she sustained  for drinking.

The woman, 28, also received 80 lashes after being caught at a party with boys and drinking.

She was found her guilty of the offences more than two years after she attended the party in Mashhad.

The article originally appeared on The Sun