Monday, June 6, 2016 12:47:39 PM

Officials flogged dozens of Iranian citizens for attending graduation parties and peaceful rallies in the country.

Photo credit by: Persian VOA

Thirty-five students were arrested and given 99 lashes each for attending a mixed-gender graduation party at a private villa in the suburbs of Qazvin City, North of Tehran, the Attorney General, Ismail Sadeghi Naiaraki, said. He claimed that some of the women were "half naked" when they were found- meaning that they were not wearing Islamic coverings of scarves and long coats (Hijab). The Attorney General added that the judiciary would not tolerate the actions of such lawbreakers, who use excuses such as "freedom" and "having fun in birthday parties and graduation ceremonies."

17 workers from Iran's Agh Darreh Gold Mine were stopped at a court in West Azerbaijan to be sentenced to flogging at Branch 101 of the Criminal Court in Takab City, rights groups reported. The workers were shamefully sentenced to be lashed for staging a peaceful rally to protest their employer's refusal to renew the contracts of 350 miners in December 2014.

Nine workers from Iran's Bafgh Mining Iron Ore Company were sentenced to suspended imprisonment and flogging at Branch 105 of the Criminal Court in Yazd City, their lawyer said. They were convicted to suspended imprisonment and flogging for "staging a peaceful union rally" two years ago.

Iran Wire reported that "This was not the first time Iranian courts sentenced workers to physical punishment and fines over labor protests." Four workers at Razi Petrochemicals were sentenced to six months in prison and 50 lashes following a complaint from their employer, the agency said. Iranian workers were also flogged in 2007 and 2008, Radio Farda reported.

Iran's officials in Sanandaj arrested 13 members of Iran's Kurdish minority for participating in rallies for International Labor Day. Some of them were sentenced to prison and flogging after having spent 50 days in prison.