Judge Qasem Naqizadeh, who presides over a court in the north-eastern city of Gonbad-e Kavus, is using the alternative sentences to avoid what he calls the "irreversible physical and psychological impact on convicts and their families" that a prison term might bring, state-run IRNA news agency reports . Individuals are told to buy and read five books, then write a summary of them, which is returned to the judge. The books are then donated to the local prison, IRNA says. The punishment is spiritual as well as educational - offenders also have to include a saying from the hadith, a collection of sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad.