IRAN HANGS 10MURDERERS IN MASS EXECUTION

IRAN HANGS 10MURDERERS IN MASS EXECUTION 22 Jan 2009, 1233 hrs IST, AFP TEHRAN: Iran has hanged 10 men convicted of murder in a mass execution in Tehran's notorious Evin prison, the government Iran newspaper reported on Thursday. The executions of the men, aged between 21 and 42, were carried out Wednesday morning, the report said. Iran also hanged 12 other men on Wednesday and Tuesday in other cities, according to earlier press reports. Among those hanged at Evin prison was an Afghan national, Molagol Hassan, who had killed his compatriot, identified as Fakhredin, in 2004 after stealing his money, the Iran said. The newspaper said that a 25-year-old man, identified only as Ali, had been lined up for the gallows but was spared the death penalty after he managed to convince victim's family to accept blood money. According to the country's Islamic law, the family can spare a murderer from execution by accepting blood money for the victim's life, leaving the convict to serve only a jail term. Since last year, the Islamic republic has stepped up its use of the death penalty in an unprecedented crackdown in a bid, it says, to improve security in society, triggering protests from Western right groups. The latest hangings bring to at least 26 the number of executions in Iran so far this year. Iran executed at least 246 people last year. Amnesty International says Iran carried out more death sentences in 2007 than any other country apart from China, executing 317 people. Capital offences in the Islamic republic include murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking and adultery.

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