IRAN: MAN HANGED IN PUBLIC

November 15, 2009: One man was hanged in a public square in the northern Iranian city of Qaemshahr in the Caspian Sea Mazandaran province, reported the Iranian daily newspaper Kayhan. The man was identified as "A. B." (24) and was sentenced to death in 2007, convicted of raping a woman according to the report. The report also said he had a prior criminal record which included robbery, kidnapping and engaging in an illicit relationship.
The reported public hanging comes despite a January 2008 statement by then Iran judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi that such executions would only be carried out with his approval and "based on social necessities."
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, spokesperson of Iran Human Rights said:" We strongly condemn excessive use of death penalty by the Iranian authorities". He added: "Today’s public hanging in
Qaemshahr was also an insult and act of terror against the public." (Sources: AFP 16/11/2009)