Offenders were publicly flogged.是什么意思？

Offenders were publicly flogged.

违犯者被当众鞭笞.

offenders

n. 冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )，犯规者，罪犯，妨害…的人（或事物）；

例句
British courts are increasingly moving away from sending young offenders to prison...
英国法院渐渐地不再将少年犯送进监狱。

were

be的过去时复数和第二人称单数形式，有时代替 was,用于条件从句、动词 wish 之后等；

例句
Shops, houses, and vehicles were set ablaze.
店铺、房子和车辆全都陷于火海。

publicly

adv. 公开地，由公众（或政府），为公众所同意，以公众名义；

例句
He publicly attacked the people who've been calling for secret ballot nominations...
他公开抨击了那些主张用不记名投票方式确定任命人选的人。

flogged

v. 滥用( flog的过去式和过去分词 )，<非正>出售，多次重打，鞭策死马；

例句
Until the 1980s some criminals were still flogged with a rattan cane as a punishment.
直到20世纪80年代,有些罪犯仍被处以笞刑。