Report: Iran hangs 29 convicted of rape, drug trafficking, murder

Iran on Sunday hanged 29 people convicted of murder, drug trafficking and other crimes, state run television reported. The television said the 29 were hanged at dawn inside the notorious Evin prison, north of the capital Tehran. The broadcast said the convicts included those found guilty of murder, rape, armed robbery and drug trafficking. The hangings were carried out at 5:10 am (00:40 GMT), after the death verdicts were ratified by the country's Supreme Court, the report said. A separate report on the television's web site quoted Tehran Chief Prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi as saying that the hanged men had records of repeated crimes including rape, armed robbery and murder. Murder, rape, armed robbery, kidnapping and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under Iran's strict Islamic laws. The TV web site also said that... [read full story]