The Iranian newspaper Iran web site reported that the...

The Iranian newspaper Iran web site reported that the death sentences of five people were to be carried out in public on the 19th and 20th of July. The judicial measure followed the confirmation of the sentences on the accused, two armed robbers and three murderers, by the judges of the State Supreme Court. According to Hamid Reza Tabataba'i, head of the Esfahan Criminal Court, the individuals concerned were Mehdi Hashemzadeh, 20, and Reza Allahbakhsh, 27. They had been convicted of robbing children and young women. Their last crime was reportedly the robbery of a jewellery shop together with an accomplice. Their accomplice was killed, and after being tried, the accused were deemed to be muharibs (wagers of war against God) and sentenced to death. Their request for clemency was rejected by the judiciary's clemency and pardons committee. The other three convicts were Mohammad Daneshmand, 33, Moslem Mohammadi, 32, and Fazlollah Qorbani, 30. According to Tabataba'i the three used to prey on drivers who made money by giving lifts to passengers (an Iranian custom). They would ask the drivers to take them to an out-of-town address and then kill them and steal their cars, the report said. The three had reportedly confessed to three murders.