A court in northeastern Iran sentenced seven men to...

A court in northeastern Iran sentenced seven men to death by hanging for their involvement in a spate of kidnaps and rapes, the daily Qods newspaper reported.
The news came just two days after the European Union announced it was not going to sponsor a United Nations resolution condemning Iran's human rights record.
The paper said the men were the ringleaders of five gangs that had forced girls into cars or on to motorbikes at gun-and knife-point and sexually assaulted them in neighbourhoods outside the city of Mashhad
Qods said a total of 270 people had been arrested since February during police investigations into the crimes.