Iran sentences 5 men to death for gang rape

Supporters of presidential candidate Iran’s judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi, holding Iraninan flags and the photos of him gather during a rally ahead of the Iranian presidential elections to be held on June 18, at Hafte Tir Square in Tehran, Iran [Fatemeh Bahrami – Anadolu Agency]

A court in Iran yesterday sentenced five men to death for gang raping a woman last year, a local senior judicial official said.

Youssef Ziamaher, the public prosecutor of the city of Marand in the province of East Azerbaijan, northwest of Iran, said the criminal court in the province sentenced five defendants to death and four others to ten years in jail.

According to the official, the case dates back to 21 May 2022, when the men kidnapped the woman from a local park while she was with her fiancé and gang raped her.

Ziamaher said local authorities initiated investigations as soon as the complaint was received and the five men were arrested and confessed to their crime.

Iranian press reports said the victim had already committed suicide while her fiancé suffered health problems as a result of the attack.

Last year, the Iranian judiciary announced the execution of three people who had been convicted of sexual assault and rape in the city of Shiraz.

According to Amnesty International, Iran ranks second in the world, behind China, in the number of death sentences carried out.

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