New wave of public hangings in Iran

Photo's taken from Iran Human Rights

Two men were executed publicly in Tehran on Sunday, AP reported. Iran Human Rights Watch one day earlier announced that according to the state run Fars news agency, these two were scheduled to be executed in public on January 20. The men were arrested 35 days ago and convicted of "Moharebeh" and "Corruption on earth" for forcefully (using a knife) stealing from a man about 50 days ago. The footage of the stealing episode was spread on YouTube.

 

Pakdasht

Earlier Iran Human Rights reported that on 18 January two men were publicly hanged in Pakdasht (South of Tehran).The state run Fars news agency. identified them as "Siyavash" (27) and ''Mahmood" (28) and said they were convicted of rape.
Iran Human Rights (IHR) had warned these hangings were about to happen, as well as the hanging of a third man (from Varamin prison) in Pakdasht on Thursday. According to IHR reports Siyavash had slit his wrist to avoid being executed. We have no news of the third man who was scheduled to be executed in Pakdasht.
Also a young man identified as Hamed (23) was publicly hanged in the city of Urmia (north-western Iran) on 19 January. According to the state run ISNA news agency the prisoner was convicted of murdering another young man.
IHR adds: Last week another man was hanged publicly in a football stadium in Sabzevar (northeastern Iran)and the flogging sentences of four men were carried out publicly in Sabzevar and Akman (near Semnan).IHR strongly condemns the wave of public executions and floggings in Iran. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of IHR said: "The international community must react to the horror show of public medieval punishments orchestrated by the Iranian authorities".