In a significant development, five convicts who were involved in the abduction and sexual assault of a woman in Iran last year have been executed.
According to reports from Iranian media, an official statement from the judiciary spokesperson has confirmed that the execution of these five individuals took place in a northwestern city of the country. The execution was related to their role in a case of sexual assault.
The incident had occurred in May 2022 when the convicts abducted a woman and subjected her to a distressing ordeal of sexual assault. Swift action by the police led to the arrest of these criminals within a mere four days after the crime was committed.
The criminals were sentenced to death by the court in July 2022, and their executions were carried out in accordance with Iranian law. The men, who were arrested four days after the gang rape in East Azerbaijan province, were also suspected of other crimes.
The judiciary spokesperson of the Iranian judiciary further mentioned in its statement that the accused were provided with a full opportunity to exercise their defense rights and that the legal requirements were also met during the hearing of the appeal in the Supreme Court against the death sentence of the accused.
Earlier in July 2023, Iran executed three men for raping women who had been lured to a fake cosmetic surgery clinic and anesthetized. The men were found guilty of conspiring to sexually assault multiple women in the southern province of Hormozgan in late 2021.
Iran executed more people than any other country except China in recent years. In 2022, the country hanged at least 582 people, the highest number since 2015. Authorities in Iran significantly increased the number of executions in 2023, with at least 282 people executed so far. This is nearly double the number of executions that were recorded at the beginning of June last year.
