Iran Focus
The latest hanging is part of a spate of public executions that began in mid-August. On August 21, three men were executed in the southern Iranian province of Kerman. Another prisoner was sentenced to death in mid-August. Last week, a 16-year-old girl was hanged in the northern town of Neka. These brought to more than 100 the number of prisoners executed since March 2004. Many of those executed or sentenced to death were young people below the age of 20.
International human rights organizations have expressed alarm at the rising number of public executions in Iran.