Iran Hangs Three Drug Smugglers in Public – Paper

Reuters: Iran has hanged three drug smugglers in a public square in the southern province of Kerman, the Jomhuri-ye Eslami newspaper reported on Saturday.
Under Iran’s strict Islamic law, in place since the 1979 revolution, the death sentence is usually reserved for murder, rape, armed robbery and drug trafficking. Reuters

TEHRAN – Iran has hanged three drug smugglers in a public square in the southern province of Kerman, the Jomhuri-ye Eslami newspaper reported on Saturday.

Under Iran’s strict Islamic law, in place since the 1979 revolution, the death sentence is usually reserved for murder, rape, armed robbery and drug trafficking.

Police seized 3.5 tons of opium and morphine, 11 Kalashnikov rifles and other weapons from two of the men who were ringleaders of a drug-running group, the paper said.

Iran is one of the main trafficking routes for heroin and opium from Afghanistan heading to Europe.

Rights groups’ tables of executions worldwide consistently place Iran among the top three. Estimates for 2003 range from 76 to 154 executions.