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Rapists hanged in public
27/09/2007 14:03 - (SA)
Tehran - Iran hanged three convicted rapists in public in a sports complex in the northern city of Babol on Thursday, the latest executions in a drive officials say is aimed at improving public security.
The men, identified as Hadi Jafartabar, Mirhadi Mirtaghi and Shojae Moussavizadeh, were sent to the gallows in the early morning amid cheering crowds, the website of state broadcasting reported.
According to the Fars news agency, they had been found guilty of raping 12 women, most of whom were university students.
The new hangings bring to at least 207 the number of executions carried out in the country so far this year, often in public.
That figure exceeds the 177 people who were executed in 2006, according to Amnesty International. Iran is the most prolific applier of the death penalty in the world after China.
Capital offences in Iran include murder, rape, armed robbery, apostasy, blasphemy, serious drug trafficking, pederasty, adultery or prostitution, treason and espionage.
Iran has stepped up executions of rapists, drug traffickers and others deemed a public menace in recent months as part of the campaign to "increase security in society".
A large number of the executions have been in public, including the rare hanging of two killers in Tehran in a clear warning by the authorities of the seriousness of their drive.
- AFP
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