Iran hanged seven men on Monday for smuggling drugs, the official IRNA news agency reported.
The convicted men were executed inside a prison in the western province of Kermanshah. “They had procured and distributed narcotics ranging from 5 kg (11 lb) of heroin to 100 kg (220 lb) of synthetic crack,” said prosecutor Mojtaba Maleki.
According to a law passed by parliament in December, procurement and distribution of more than 30 g (1.06 oz) of drugs is punishable by death. State media on Saturday reported the execution of eight other drug smugglers in the holy Shi’ite city of Qom.
Human rights groups criticise Iran for maintaining one of the highest execution rates in the world. Murder, adultery, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking and apostasy — the renouncing of Islam — are all punishable by death under Iran’s Islamic law, practised since the 1979 revolution.
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