Iranian singer Mehdi Yarrahi has been flogged 74 times as part of a legal agreement to conclude a criminal case against him, his lawyer confirmed on Wednesday
Iranian singer Mehdi Yarrahi has been flogged 74 times as part of a legal agreement to conclude a criminal case against him, his lawyer confirmed on Wednesday
Iranian singer Mehdi Yarrahi has been flogged 74 times as part of a legal agreement to conclude a criminal case against him, his lawyer confirmed on Wednesday.
Yarrahi was convicted in January 2024 for releasing Your Headscarf (Roo Sarito), a protest song commemorating the first anniversary of Iran’s Woman, Life, Freedom movement.
The musician’s one-year prison sentence had been converted to electronic ankle monitoring, which ended in December.
Before receiving the punishment, Yarrahi said, “I am ready to receive the sentence of 74 lashes, and while I condemn this inhuman torture, I make no request to cancel it.”
His lawyer, Zahra Minouei, confirmed on social media that “the last part of the sentences issued by the Tehran Revolutionary Court had been administered.”
Several Telegram channels are actively promoting illegal entry into the United States, despite recent news of deportations from the country
Several Telegram channels are actively promoting illegal entry into the United States, despite recent news of deportations from the country
Several Telegram channels are actively promoting illegal entry into the United States, despite recent news of deportations from the country.
The channels provide advice on illegal border crossings and claim they can transport migrants to what they describe as the “land of golden opportunities.”
To bolster their credibility, they share videos of people from Brazil, Guatemala, Venezuela, and Mexico who thank channel administrators for allegedly facilitating their safe passage to the United States.
“We don’t arrange travel from Iran. You need to reach Central America first, and then we can get you to Mexico and the United States,” said the administrator of one channel.
All posts include contact information for group administrators or smugglers, allowing potential migrants to communicate directly with them for additional details about their services.
“If we can get to Guatemala, can you help us enter the United States?” In response to this question, he writes, “Your transfer from Guatemala to Mexico takes two days, and the transfer from southern Mexico to the north and finally into United States territory takes 12 days.”
People say the border situation is not good right now and some transfers are not happening. He responds, “The current sensitive border conditions have extended the process and increased costs but have not created problems for the definite transfer.”
“Do we have to go to jail at the Mexican border?” He says, “You will be detained but released in a day or two, especially if you are a woman.”
According to the admin of one channel, the cost of transferring from Guatemala to Mexico and crossing the Mexican border is $13,700.
“Guatemala to Mexico $2,700 in two days, southern Mexico to the north $6,500 in 12 days, and crossing the border $4,500 in four days.”
The admin of another Telegram channel wrote two days after videos of illegal migrants being transferred to Panama were published in this channel, “Asylum and residence in America have become a bit complicated now. As I write this message, Canada is the best option. Both the residence approval has high speed, and you can go to America later, and it has more advantages than America.”
He says he charges about $5,000 for travel from Tehran to Canada with a lookalike passport- $1,000 before processing and $4,000 at the destination airport.
According to immigration lawyers, using fake passports to enter countries has severe consequences such as imprisonment, permanent deportation from that country, and heavy fines.
For the first stage, the channel’s admin asks several questions about the validity of the Iranian passport and the stamps from previous trips inside it.
When he hears in response that the passport is valid for two more years and contains entry and exit stamps from neighboring countries such as the UAE, Turkey, and Armenia, he makes a strange request.
“Put your passport in your pants pocket and throw it in the washing machine, then go to the police and say, ‘My passport has been damaged - my mother accidentally threw it in the washing machine.’ Within two weeks, a new passport will be issued to you.”
He doesn’t explain why a new passport is needed. He says that after obtaining the new passport and transferring $2,000, he will explain the next stages and other things that need to be done.
An advisor at a Tehran travel agency specialising in obtaining Canadian visas says, “There’s a high possibility that a smuggler might want to put a fake visa on your passport.
“Counterfeit Canadian visas are very common, and the police constantly issue warnings about this.
“Besides, the story about accidentally dropping your passport in the washing machine has already been exposed among passport office experts.
“Issuing passports due to damage is now under the supervision of colonels from the main passport office rather than the police.
“They ask many questions about the damaged passport and the reasons for it, review your records, and essentially interrogate you before issuing a new passport. It also takes longer for them to issue the passport.”
Two days after the last conversation with one channel’s admin, he writes in a message that the situation in America has improved and says, “If you want, I can send you to America with a lookalike passport. If you’ve applied for a passport and your money is ready, let me know.”
When asked, “Don’t these look alike passports create danger for the migrant?” He responds, “Anyone who tells you there’s no danger is lying. Migration, especially in this manner, is all about risk.”
Kianoush Razaghi, an immigration lawyer in the US, says, “Essentially, when you’re discussing illegal immigration, you’re 90 per cent at the hands of the other party because you have no rights for complaints or verifying the claims being made.”
According to him, scammers have various methods. “They use different approaches, and these methods become more innovative every day. One very common method is creating crowded Telegram and WhatsApp groups with many users. The follower count needs to be high to build trust.
“In the next stage, they create all sorts of fake IDs, probably generated by these individuals, to tell their success stories. For example, they say, ‘I crossed the border today, and I’m very thankful to Mr. So-and-so for this good experience.’ Or, ‘I filed for asylum today, and I’m grateful to Mr. So-and-so.’”
He says another method of attraction is that these individuals falsely divide the amount they want into several sections.
“When you get a Brazilian visa, pay this much - at the Mexican border, pay this much - and when you reach the other side of the border, pay the final installment.
“The victim’s trust is gained because they think they’re not paying all the money at once, but the scammers defraud them in two ways.
“First, they take all their profit and money in the first installment and don’t do anything for the person.
“Second, if they’re in the final stages of the scam - meaning you might be among their last victims - they might also make you a victim of theft and extortion along the way.”