On April 6, a sentence of 30 lashes was carried out against five activists in Iran. They were sentenced for raising a placard during a soccer match that called for the release of a political prisoner.

The sentence was carried out by the regime’s officials in Ardebil Prison. Ardabil is the center of Ardabil Province (north of Iran).
The victims were identified as Amir Amini, Morteza Parvin, Maysam Jolani, Saleh Peachganlou, and Mostafa Parvin.
Ardebil’s court condemned each of these activists in November 2015 to three months of imprisonment and 30 lashes for raising a placard in a soccer match between teams from Ardebil and Hormozgan which read “Abbas Lesani and political prisoners must be freed”. The verdict was upheld by the Court of Appeal.
On March 25, 2015, Abbas Lesani, an activist, was condemned to one year of imprisonment for “propaganda” against the regime. He is currently spending time at Shiraz prison.
In its annual report, Amnesty International noted that Iran continues to severely restrict freedoms, imprison activists, implement torture and antihuman treatments, maim and flog in public, execution, including execution of juveniles.