A court in Mashhad, capital city of the northeastern...

A court in Mashhad, capital city of the northeastern Iranian province of Khorasan, sentenced 12 members of the 'Vultures' gang to death on various charges.
The Persian-language newspaper `Afarinesh' reported that Bench 19 of Mashhad court had passed various sentences for some 50 members of the 145-strong gang, while others had been released on bail.
Afarinesh quoted the judge dealing with the case, Mohammad Qaruni, as saying that seven of the convicts on death row had appealed, adding that some 15 women who acted as "middlewomen" and headed brothels had received five years prison terms as well as lashes.
Qaruni added that some 50 "street women" had been arrested in connection with the gang.
The Vultures, he said, had been convicted of several charges that included setting up three brothels, spreading corruption, and forging documents.
The judge further said that gang members, who had set up a network throughout Mashhad, identified runaway girls, and induced them to join the Vultures.