Two clips of public floggings in Iran

Clip 1 of 2

This scene is from December 1991. The clip lasts a little over one minute. The picture quality is very degraded, probably through serial recopying of analogue videotape.

A crowd gathers. A man is heard ranting through the public address system; I have the impression that the soundtrack and the picture are not in phase.

A prisoner is brought forward; it is not clear whether this is the same person we then see being flogged.

There are about 40 lashes, inflicted so rapidly that one suspects the film has been somewhat speeded up. Unlike other Iranian flogging scenes we have seen, the man being punished does not appear to be tied up. He merely stands facing a wall, apparently held by his arms over the top of the wall. As far as one can tell, the strokes of the whip are mainly landing on the seat of his shorts.

HERE IS THE CLIP:

Clip 2 of 2

This lasts 1 minute 40 seconds and is said to have been filmed in Qom, on an unknown date (although a caption at the end refers to 1985; somehow the scene looks more recent than that, but one cannot be sure). A man is flogged as he lies face down flat on a bench. His legs and head are being held down by officials. At times the proceedings are obscured from view by officials and observers. From time to time he can be heard yelling in pain.

It is hard to see what part of the body is being whipped. It may be the whole of the man's back and legs, or the small of his back, or possibly just his buttocks and thighs. Different methods have been noted on different occasions and it is clear that there is no consistency of practice in Iran. The instrument here looks as if it is a cane rather than a whip. In this particular case the offender has been allowed to keep all his clothes on. Compare with these still pictures of other JCP scenes in Iran.

HERE IS THE CLIP: