Iran: Three men executed for rape

Iranian authorities have executed three men convicted of rape in the northern city of Gorgan, the country’s judiciary announced on Saturday.

“The death sentences of three men convicted of rape were carried out this morning in the prison of the northern city of Gorgan,” local judiciary chief Heydar Asiabi was quoted as saying by the judiciary’s Mizan Online news website.

According to Asiabi, “The three-member gang was quickly arrested after three women reported a rape,” though no further details were given.

ALSO READ: Nigeria bears highest cervical cancer burden in Africa — WHO

Murder and rape are punishable by death in Iran, which human rights groups, including Amnesty International, say is the second most prolific executioner in the world after China.

Executions in the Islamic Republic are typically carried out by hanging at dawn, most often within prison walls. 

However, earlier this month, Tribune Online reports that authorities carried out a rare public hanging of a man convicted of raping and murdering a young girl in the northwest, a case that provoked widespread public outrage.

ALSO READ TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE