30 Lashes for a blogger in prison in the northern city of Tabriz

Iran Press News: Translation by Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi

Tabriz News - Human Rights Service: Seyed Ahmad Seyed Seraajee imprisoned blogger who is currently being detained at the Tabriz prison, will receive 30 lashes. Seraajee, in a short phone conversation told the Tabriz News Human Rights Service: "Branch 7 of the enforcement task force of the Judiciary of Tabriz has applied for me to receive the 30 lashes that I was sentenced to."

The Tabrizi blogger who was arrested on June 28th of this year has been charged with "campaigning against the order/regime." Seraajee was first arrested in 2003 and held on the very same charges; he was sentenced to 6 months in prison by branch 3 of the primary revolutionary court of Tabriz; his appeal was granted however and he was released. Since his arrest in June, he spent most of this detention in the temporary jail with addicts, murderers, thieves and smugglers; before he was transferred to another ward, he was attacked and severely beaten by inmates who threatened to cut his throat during the night, while he was asleep, making it look like Seraajee had committed suicide.