A criminal court in Tehran has condemned a 20-year-old runaway girl to 50 lashes as well as four months imprisonment, reported the official Iranian news agency (IRNA), quoting a local report on Saturday.
The Persian daily Afarinesh said the girl, identified only by her first name, Maryam, received the sentence upon a complaint by her brother for staying away from home and allegedly having extramarital relations.
According to Afarinesh, Maryam's parents lost their lives in an accident, forcing her to stay with her brother.
She told the court that her harsh treatment by her brother and his wife made her flee home, the paper added.
Police last time arrested the woman and her boyfriend in the central city of Isfahan and transferred them to Tehran for trial, it said.
In October, a university professor of social relations was
quoted as saying that the number of young girls running away from home was on the rise.
Farideh Pourgiv was cited as saying in the conservative daily Qods that the issue had led to the establishment of centers to lure runaway girls – Albawaba.com
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