Monday, January 26, 2009

ORAN

Iran has hanged six men convicted of drug trafficking and other crimes in a prison in the northeastern city of Bojnoord, the state IRNA news agency reported on Sunday.

"These people were hanged for the sale and possession of drugs, rape, assault with a knife, drinking alcohol, abduction and robbery," Bojnoord prosecutor Mir Alam Seyedi told IRNA.

He did not identify the convicts or say when the executions took place.

The latest hangings bring to at least 32 the number of executions in Iran so far this year. Iran executed at least 246 people last year, according to an AFP count.

Since last year, the Islamic republic has stepped up its use of the death penalty in what it says is a bid to improve security in society.

Amnesty International says Iran carried out more death sentences in 2007 than any other country apart from China, executing 317 people.

Capital offences in the Islamic republic include murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking and adultery.

(This news from IRNA, Iran, Janauary 25, 2009)

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