Thirteen young boys were publicly whipped in central
Tehran around a crowded square on Tuesday evening for "drinking alcohol" and "street banditry," reported the official Iranian news agency, IRNA on Tuesday.
The flogging brought the traffic into a standstill around Vali-e Asr Square.
The youngsters, whose identities and ages have not yet been revealed, were convicted by a Tehran public court.
This was the ninth reported public flogging in Tehran over the past month.
The conservative court system has increasingly resorted to floggings to combat crime, raising protests from reformist MPs – Albawaba.com