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Four more hanged in public, total of 21 executed in Iran today |
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Wednesday, 05 September 2007 |
Iran Focus
 Tehran, Iran, Sep. 05 – Four more men were hanged in public in the southern province of Fars on Wednesday, bringing the total number of people executed in Iran today to at least 21.
The four were identified as Mohammad Ghassemi, Alireza Barahoui, Gazav Mahmoud Zehi, and Abdolrasoul Ghorbanzadeh, the state-run news agency Fars reported.
They were hanged in public in the provincial capital Shiraz.
The four men were accused of taking part in armed attacks against the State Security Forces among other charges.
Separately, state media reported that 17 men were hanged in the north-eastern province of Khorassan Razavi.
“Following legal procedures, 17 individuals were hanged for drug smuggling in Khorassan Razavi province this morning”, state television said.
Iranian authorities routinely execute dissidents on bogus charges such as armed robbery and drug smuggling.
The mass executions were carried out a day after the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour held talks with senior Iranian officials in Tehran.
Arbour failed to meet with the families of victims of political executions and those currently in Iranian prisons.
State Security Forces attacked a gathering of such families outside the United Nation’s Tehran office earlier this week. |
