Sunday, July 27, 2008 - 07:00
AFP News Briefs ListIran hangs 29 drug traffickers, murderers, rapists
Iran on Sunday hanged 29 people convicted of drug trafficking, murder and rape in the notorious Tehran prison of Evin, the state broadcaster reported on its website.
In the largest mass execution in the Islamic republic in recent years, the hangings were carried out at 5.10 a.m. (0040 GMT), it said.
The latest hangings bring to at least 155 the number of executions carried out in Iran this year, according to an AFP count.
Amnesty International reported that in 2007 Iran applied the death penalty more often than any other country apart from China, executing 317 people during the year.
The hanged men had records of repeated crimes including rape, murder with torture and armed robbery.
The state broadcaster named some of the convicts as Ali Reza Chubdari Fard, Abdolreza Shah Bakhsh, Shiragha Tajik, Mohammad Khalegh Dadi, Sohrab Kamal Zehi, Ali Rushian, Morteza Chardavali, Assadollah Naghdi Pari and Hossein Mirzai.
The charges against them included serious drug trafficking, the stabbing to death of victims, drinking alcohol and keeping war ammunition.
Capital offences in the Islamic republic include murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking and adultery.
Human rights groups have accused Iran of making excessive use of the death penalty but Tehran insists it is an effective deterrent that is carried out only after an exhaustive judicial process.
Images
File picture shows an execution in Iran in January. Iran on Sunday hanged 29 people convicted of drug trafficking, murder and rape in the notorious Tehran prison of Evin, the state broadcaster reported on its website.
© 2007 AFP
