Iranian execution (archives)
Photo:AFP
Woman, 8 men executed in Iran
Iranian media report nine convicted murderers hung in Tehran prison. Tenth felon survives at last moment due to family's absence
Eight men and one woman were executed by hanging early Wednesday at a prison in the Iranian capital of Tehran, Iranian news agency Fars reported.
The nine people condemned to death were taken Tuesday to a special unit at Tehran's infamous Ewin Prison and were hung in the jail yard at the crack of dawn.
According to the report, the nine were convicted murderers, who were sentenced to death in accordance with a clause in Islamic law allowing eye-for-eye retribution.
Espionage Plot?
Ali Ashtari, an Iranian citizen convicted in June of spying on his country for Israel, was executed. He had confessed to meeting with three Mossad agents who he said gave him money, electronic equipment to distribute in Islamic Republic
At least 243 people have been executed in Iran in the past year, according to the French news agency, while the Amnesty organization reports 317 people have been executed in the country since the beginning of 2007.
Human rights organization reported Tuesday that another person was slated to join the execution, but that the implementation of his sentence was postponed at the last minute due to his family's absence. Details on the identities of the woman and men executed were not released.
According to reports, the woman killed was punished for the murder of her stepdaughter. She pleaded not guilty and told the court that the admission was forced out of her by the authorities.
Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iranian law is based on the Sharia (the body of Islamic religious law), and people convicted of murder, rape, adultery, homosexuality, abduction, robbery and drug smuggling are sentenced to death.
The sentence is usually implemented inside the prisons and sometimes publicly.
The international pressure on Iran in terms of public executions has obtained partial results as it was decided to limit the number of hangings on city streets. The decision was likely made after the Iranians realized that the images distributed on the internet were damaging their image and prompting international pressure and negative media reports.
