Iran's former prosecutor-general Ayatollah Morteza...

Iran's former prosecutor-general Ayatollah Morteza Moqtada'i defended the execution of Islamic punishments in public, saying they help deter the rise of crime in society.
"The motive behind the execution of hodud (definite punishments) is deterrence and not revenge," he told a conference on the same theme in the central religious city of Qom.
Public execution of court sentences, particularly public flogging of young people, triggered mixed reactions among Iran's political groups and the country's officials.
Judiciary officials insisted the punishments are an inseparable part of Islamic doctrine and are justified as a means of deterring rising criminality and breaches of Islamic teachings.
President Mohammad Khatami however said that "harsh and repressive measures won't help us fight corruption among young people. We all need to cooperate to find a solution."
Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi stated the rising number of public flogging risks harming the international image of the Islamic system. He also criticized certain reactions of the foreign press to the religious verdicts, denouncing them as "interference in Iran's internal affairs."