ABC blog

Khabar Jonub, October 25, 2012

…A newly-wed man who  was walking a dog in one of the posh neighborhoods in the west of Mashhad, and was thus endangering the physical and mental health of citizens, was arrested by law enforcement  personnel and presented to judicial authorities for legal processing.

The accused objected to the court’s verdict and asking for [the court’s] forgiveness, requested leniency.  Following the newly-wed’s objection, the case was reviewed in Branch 6 of Khorasan Razavi Provinces’s Appeals Court. Even though in the preliminary review of the case, the lower court’s verdict had been approved by the Court of Appeals, the experienced judges of this branch, upon further consultation, suspended the sentence for 2 years, based on the specific circumstances of the accused and the fact that he had no criminal record.

The verdict of the Branch 6 of the appeal court specifies that:

“The named accused has been sentenced to 6 months in prison for owning and living with a dog in his house, on the streets, and in parks. Even though the Appeals Court approves of the sentence that it finds correct, because of the defendant’s special circumstances and the fact that this newly-wed young man has expressed his regret, [the Court] suspends the enforcement of the sentence for 2 years.”

In reference to the issued sentence, Judge Shams Guilani warned individuals who consider possessing and having fun with a dog as normal:

“First, from the standpoint of Islamic religious (“Shari’a”) legal principles, dogs are filthy and impure (Najes ole in). Second, by law, based on Article 688 of the Islamic Penal Code, possessing a dog or being accompanied by it on the streets and in public places is a crime and carries a prison sentence.

Further, walking a dog on the streets and in parks is not only a threat to people’s health, it also causes mental and psychological illnesses for children or other individuals….”