Metalworkers from Iran fled to Norway, as they face time
You can't spoil yourself in Iran — you need to think carefully before you say or sing something. Two guys from this country who play heavy metal in the band Confession, Nikan Siyanor Khosravi and Arash Chemical Ilkhani, miraculously escaped corporal punishment and a long term for insulting the canons of Islam and the personality of the president of the country in their songs.
The sentence was harsh — 74 lashes and 14 years in prison for everyone who participated in insulting the faith and the state leader. Fortunately, at the time of sentencing, Nikan and Arash were inaccessible to the Iranian authorities — the guys fled the country to Norway, where they received political asylum.
This medieval story began in 2015 when The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps arrested two metalworkers who allegedly blasphemed the Prophet and called for revolution in the country. There were also aggravating circumstances, which the prosecution formulated as follows:
Considering all of the above, the musicians were given the death penalty, but the Iranian court, the most humane in the world, decided to give the rockers a chance to improve. They were kept behind bars for two years, awaiting trial, and then even released on bail of 30 thousand dollars for each. One of the musicians, Khosravi, explained the gracious court decision in this way:
But the metalheads did not live up to the hopes of the champions of justice and instead of humbly waiting at home for the court's decision and atoning for their sins, they fled to Turkey, and from there to distant Norway. There, taking into account their past, they quickly received refugee status and continued to do what they loved, that is, heavy music.
The last track, recorded by the now Norwegian band Confess on July 6, was named Evin, in honor of the prison where they waited two years for their fate to be decided. Although this place is not among the most terrible correctional institutions on the planet, it is actively fighting for this title. By the way, as you have already understood, the absence of the defendants did not confuse the Iranian authorities and the trial was held as expected, with a verdict in absentia.
Keywords: Iran | Norway | Escape | Rockers | Death penalty | Term