The head of Iran's judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmud Hashemi-Shahrudi,...

The head of Iran's judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmud Hashemi-Shahrudi, defended the use of the death penalty to the visiting UN Human Rights High Commissioner Mary Robinson saying most death sentences passed in Iran were drug-related. He also argued that the Islamic concept of "retaliation for murder" was not the same as execution."It is a clearly defined right and those who are convicted may be pardoned," he said.