Woman escapes Iran after husband viciously lashed for playing music at parties

04 January 2023 , 16:47

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Leila Eftetahi and her husband Ali protesting against the killing of protesters in Iran earlier this year (Image: Leila Eftetah)

A woman escaped from Iran after the barbaric regime brutally whipped her husband to a bloody mess and threatened to hang him for being a DJ.

Leila Eftetahi, 32, fled the conservative pilgrimage city of Masshad in northeast Iran in 2015 with her partner Ali, 31, a former soldier who became an underground DJ and breakdancing teacher - both of which are illegal in the Islamic Republic.

Though there is a flourishing underground music scene in Iran, much of it goes on in secret with hosts only inviting people they trust and know.

Certain kinds of Western music, like Rock, R&B, metal, and rap music are completely outlawed.

Sentences for playing music are less severe, but the cops arresting Leila's husband chose to worsen his punishment by charging him with alcohol consumption, she tells The Mirror.

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And under Iran's interpretation of Sharia law, the third offence for boozing carries a mandatory execution, usually by hanging.

"We have two kind of charges," Leila tells The Mirror from her new home in Germany.

"One, they call it whip but it's very mild and is more like a performance where they don't beat you," she said.

"For alcohol, it's as hard as they can."

If convicted again, Leila's husband may have faced the death penalty (Leila Eftetahi)

Leila says that by charging him with alcohol consumption and not DJing, the guards could hit him as hard as they wanted to satisfy their cruelty (Leila Eftetah)

Horrific images of whip wounds covering Ali's back show just how spitefully the guards turned when dishing out his 82 lashes.

Ali - who was a soldier in Tehran before meeting Leila - had travelled to Mashhad for a family party when he was picked up by police the first time.

After accusing him of drinking, they locked him away for 2-3 days. He wasn't allowed to contact his family or a lawyer and the guards continued to brutalise him throughout, Leila said.

For his second arrest, Ali, Leila and some friend were recording music in an underground studio when cops burst in and arrested him, using the drinking charge again but also accusing him of having taken drugs.

Ali and Leila, who now live together in Germany after years of seeking asylum (Leila Eftetah)

Leila recalls being told "this type of music is for people on drugs" as their basis of evidence.

Again, Ali was locked up, beaten and denied legal counsel.

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With his record now tarnished, everything else in the couple's life started to fall apart. Leila's dad, now aware of Ali's conviction, barred the pair from seeing each other and even tried to implement an injunction through the courts.

Now facing a third offence, Ali and Leila decided to escape from Iran with the help of Ali's family - favouring their chances in Europe.

Ali was locked up in a jail cell for three days and denied contact with family or a lawyer (Leila Eftetah)

But when they arrived, they found themselves adrift "in limbo" in Greece and Turkey.

Finally, after several years the duo managed to get into Germany.

Calling her experience "dehumanising", Leila says that she spent three years being moved from pillar to post in six different cities.

Now, Leila teaches Farsi to students from all over the world through an online language learning platform called NaTakallam.

Leila and Ali's story comes as the Iranian government crack down on the anti-regime protesters who erupted in civil unrest after morality police fatally beat a 22-year-old Kurdish woman called Mahsa Amini for wearing her hijab "improperly".

The protesters have demanded revolution, calling for Iran's clerical rulers to be removed from power.

Ms Amini was arrested for so-called improper dress as her hair was not properly covered.

At least 476 protesters have been killed, while at least 100 are facing execution or death-penalty charges or sentences, according to the non-profit Iran Human Rights.

Ryan Fahey