Iranian Actress Leila Hatami Apologises for Kissing Cannes President on the Cheek

Ms Hatami underlined her respect for Islamic rules of behaviour
in public, but festival president Gilles Jacob, 83, "had forgotten the
aforementioned rules, which comes with old age"

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: An Iranian actress who kissed the 83-year-old president of the Cannes film festival on the cheek has apologised to her country, after a photo of the red carpet incident caused outrage

Leila Hatami, the Iranian actress who angered authorities in Iran by kissing the Cannes film festival's president on the cheek, has apologised to her country.

"I am so sorry for hurting the feelings of some people," she wrote in a letter to Iran's cinema organisation, and reported by the state media agency.

Ms Hatami underlined her respect for Islamic rules of behaviour in public, but festival president Gilles Jacob, 83, "had forgotten the aforementioned rules, which comes with old age".

"My pre-emptive action of hand shaking was fruitless," she wrote, explaining the kiss.

"Although I am embarrassed to give these explanations, I had no choice but to go into details for those who could not understand the inevitable situation that I was stuck in," she said. » | AFP | Saturday, May 24, 2014

What Can You Be Flogged For In Iran? »

Who, What, Why: What Can You Be Flogged For In Iran?

Leila Hatami

BBC: A campaign has begun in Iran to get an actress flogged after she was seen being kissed at the Cannes Festival. Flogging is common in Iran - but what offences in Iranian law are punished with the lash, asks Tom de Castella.

It was a normal French greeting. The actress Leila Hatami - best known for starring in the Oscar-winning film, A Separation - received a kiss on the cheek from festival president Gilles Jacob. But she has come under attack from religious hardliners for accepting the greeting rather than ducking away.

Radical students have condemned her "sinful act of kissing a strange man in public" and demanded she be flogged under article 638 of the criminal code, which deals with public morality.

Adultery, kissing in public, theft, homosexual acts, drinking or selling alcohol, and blasphemy are all grounds for flogging in Iran. Offenders are usually sentenced to between 10 and 100 lashes across the back, carried out with a one-metre (three-foot) whip. The pain is so severe that they often faint after seven or eight strokes, says Anicee Van Engeland, a specialist in Iranian law at London University's School of Oriental and African Studies. » | Who, What, Why | BBC News | Friday, May 23, 2014