Woman told to cover up gives cleric brutal beating

Published on 21/09/2012 00:00

An Iranian cleric has revealed that a woman he “politely” chided for having her head partly uncovered gave him such a brutal beating he was hospitalised for three days.

Hojatoleslam Ali Beheshti, who suffered a lumbar spinal contusion, said he still needs his wife’s help to eat and take care of his “personal affairs” a month after the “worst day of my life”.

The mid-ranking Shiite cleric was on his way to a mosque when he spotted the “badly covered” woman in the street. Feeling duty-bound to intervene, he told her to cover up properly.

She snapped back: “You should close your eyes.” When he repeated his request, she became aggressive.

“Not only didn’t she cover herself up, but she also insulted and threatened me,” Mr Beheshti complained in a candid interview with Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency this week.

“She pushed me and I fell to the ground on my back. From that point on, I don’t know what happened,” he added, betraying no sign of embarrassment over his fate.

Mr Beheshti is a leading religious figure in the city of Shahmirzad in Iran’s northern province of Semnan.

Three other clerics have been assaulted in similar attacks.