IRAN. THREE HANGED FOR MURDER, RAPE

an Iranian man convicted of murder and two others convicted of rape have been hanged in Tehran's Evin prison, the Etemad Melli newspaper reported.
The murder convict, identified as Alireza, had driven over and killed three people with his bus. He admitted doing so because he was angry after a quarrel in the bus terminal. The two other men -- two 18-year-olds identified as Mehran and Ali -- had been convicted of raping a young girl in a building site. The hangings were carried out on May 31, the report said.
The executions bring to at least 56 the number of people executed in Iran so far in 2006, according to an AFP tally based on press reports and witnesses.
Capital offences in the Islamic republic include murder, rape, armed robbery, apostasy, blasphemy, serious drug trafficking, repeated sodomy, adultery or prostitution, and treason and espionage.