Tehran, Oct 12 (ANI): Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has criticized the recent flogging of a student who was convicted of insulting him, but he has not voiced similar concerns for an Iranian actress who has been sentenced to 90 lashes and a year in prison for starring in a film.
Tehran University political science student Peyman Aref was recently lashed 74 times with a whip wielded by a masked guard at Tehran's Evin prison.
He was also given a lifetime ban from working as journalist or membership of any political party, the Scotsman reports.
Photographs of his bloodied and lacerated back were later posted on social networking sites by Iran's online community.
Ahmadinejad, however, declared that he "disapproved of flogging a young man for insulting him."
Ahmadinejad faced further international criticism when it emerged that actress Marzieh Vafamehr was sentenced to 90 lashes for working in a film, produced in collaboration with Australia, that highlights the limits imposed on artists in the Islamic republic.
Australia's foreign ministry recently said it 'condemns the use of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment' and was 'deeply concerned' by reports of Vafamehr's plight.
The movie, 'My Tehran For Sale' was shot in Tehran and tells the story of a young actress whose theatre work is banned by the authorities, and she is forced to lead a secret life in order to express herself artistically.
The filmmakers and investors behind the film also said they are 'deeply shocked and appalled' by her sentence. (ANI)
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