Eight Iranians were hanged, four of them for rape and...

Eight Iranians were hanged, four of them for rape and the others for the murder and armed robbery of motorist. Four young men were executed at a prison in the Shia holy city of Mashhad. They were convicted of raping a woman after forcing their way into her apartment.Four others were executed the same day in public in Ahwaz, the main town of Khuzestan province in southwest Iran. They were identified as Makki Hosein Zadeh, Bornas Shajirat, Abbas Tavini and Hni Hashoosh. Islamic laws in force in Iran lay down capital punishment for rape, armed robbery, drug-trafficking and murder. In murder cases, a victim's family is entitled to pardon the killer.