NICOSIA, May 11, 2012 (AFP) - Iran's reported conviction of a cartoonist to 25 lashes for a caricature of a former lawmaker is the Islamic republic's latest attack on freedom of expression, Amnesty International said Friday.
Reports by online news outlets last week said cartoonist Mahmoud Shokrayi was handed the sentence for depicting Ahmad Lotfi Ashtiani, an MP for Arak, as a football player.
Ashtiani, a conservative criticised for interfering in sports, found the cartoon published by a city magazine offensive and took Shokrayi to court, according to the reports which are yet to be confirmed by official media.
Amnesty condemned the sentencing as an attack on freedom of expression.
Shokrayi's "brutal sentence, just for drawing a harmless cartoon, sends a chilling message to all Iranians that they cannot freely and peacefully express their views without the fear of facing harsh reprisals," said Ann Harrison, deputy director of Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa programme.
"This is yet one more example of the Iranian authorities' relentless attack on freedom of expression. Flogging is a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment for any crime, and as such is prohibited under international law," she said.
"The Iranian authorities should be working to remove it as a punishment in law instead of sentencing ever more people to lashes," she said.
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