Iranian sentenced to jail for walking his dog
A 70-year-old Iranian man has been sentenced to four months in jail and thirty whip strikes for walking his dog. The old man was caught in the act by police in a village close to Tehran.
In many Islamic countries dogs are viewed as ‘dirty animals’. For this reason walking your dog is forbidden in Iran. Only having guard dogs to protect private property is allowed.
The court decided the man is guilty of ‘disrupting public order’. Even to Iranian standards the punishment is pretty severe. Usually people who perpetrate the dog walking law are fined and have their dogs put in an animal shelter.
Oddly enough, not long ago President Ahmadinejad publicly bought four guard dogs. Because of this more dog owners risk walking their dogs openly on the streets.
