A court in Iran on Tuesday sentenced former prosecutor general Saeed Mortazavi to 135 lashes for corruption, according to the state run media [media website]. Mortazavi was a prosecutor who was accused of human rights abuses during the Arab Spring protests, which resulted in the death of three protesters [BBC report]. An ally of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mortazavi e was convicted [Reuters report] of misappropriation of funds while he ran the social security office in 2012 and 2013. He apologized [IHR report] for his behavior in the months leading up to his sentencing. The sentence was criticized [Guardian report] by human rights groups, which called it an example of continued corruption as well as archaic punishment practices. The sentence has not been confirmed by any government official.

In August 2015 Mortazavi was acquitted of murder charges [JURIST report] relating to the 2009 killing of three prisoners [JURIST report]. Mortazavi had been named by multiple Iranian news sources as one of three top judicial officials who were suspended in connection with the torture deaths of three detained protesters, multiple Iranian media outlets reported. He was disbarred [BBC report] in 2014 as a result.