Journalist Salahuddin Khalaj Asadi has been sentenced to forty lashes by the Appeals Court of Markazi Province.
This journalist reported that the case was filed following a complaint by Masoud Pirayesh, Director General of the Sports and Youth Department of Markazi Province. Mr. Khalaj Asadi was sentenced to forty lashes on the charge of insulting a government official.
Khalaj Asadi also announced that he was acquitted of the charges of “personal insult, defamation, and spreading falsehoods.”
It is crucial to note that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights prohibits flogging as a form of cruel and inhumane punishment.
In 2023, the Department of Statistics and Publications of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) documented 2,380 cases in which citizens, including journalists and civil rights activists, faced legal and security consequences for exercising their freedom of expression and thought. These incidents resulted in the arrest of 3,130 individuals.