IRAN. FOUR YOUNG IRANIANS HANGED PUBLICLY

four Iranian men convicted of robbery, kidnapping and rape -- at least one of whom was under the age of 18 -- were hanged publicly in the southern port of Bandar Abbas, the Kayhan newspaper said. The revolutionary and public prosecutor from the city, who was not named, told the hardline paper the convicts were aged between 17 and 23 -- but the report did not specify how many of them were under 18 at the time of the crimes or execution. Two of the young men, only identified as A. P. and B. K., had been convicted of raping a mother after burgling her house. They had also been sentenced to 74 lashes and a 10 year jail term to be served if they had  been spared execution. The other executed men, only identified as H. K. and H. J., had been convicted of kidnapping and raping three children under the age of 10. They were also sentenced to ten years jail.