Iran
- Thursday 11 January
2001 - Agence France Presse
TEHRAN,
Jan 11 (AFP) - Tehran police have shut down 29 brothels in the
well-heeled northern districts of the city and arrested more than
85 madams and pimps, a press report said Thursday, quoting a
judicial official.
The
daily Jam-e-jam said those arrested, whose life style included
luxury cars and mobile telephones, had been sentenced to jail
terms, fines and whippings.
The
report was unprecedented in Islamic Iran, where the existence of
prostitution is officially unmentionable.
The
official said that unidentified "foreigners" might be
implicated, referring to police swoops on "depraved" New
Year parties in which 313 people, including foreigners, were
arrested.
Although
all the foreigners had since been freed, according to judicial
sources, the official said the Tehran judiciary would not shrink
from prosecuting those involved.
"When
we hear that these people have immunity or that some are
diplomats, it is unacceptable," he said. "In the Islamic
republic we have our own regulations and laws which must be
applied."
The
official said that the foreign ministry had been informed and
could act in line with its legal duties, while investigations
might reveal that participants at such "orgies" were
spies.
"But
so far the courts consider that they had no particular mission,
that the offences committed were private
and in no way affected relations between states," he
added.