IRAN HANGS MAN FOR MURDER IN PUBLIC OUTSIDE TEHRAN

Iran hanged a convicted murderer in public in a town just south of the capital Tehran, Iranian media reported. The man, identified as Amir Hossein Rouhafza, 20, was hanged from a crane in front of large crowds early in the morning in the town of Gharchak, some 40 kilometres from the capital. He had been found guilty of killing a judge named Javad Jafarpour inside the court building in the town. According to the Fars and ISNA agencies, senior local officials were present at his execution, which was welcomed by loud cheers from the crowds. Pictures published by ISNA showed uniformed members of the judicial police ushering Rouhafza onto the back of a pick-up truck and hanging a noose attached to a crane around his neck. Another image showed the corpse of the convict -- dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt -- suspended in the air from the crane after the execution.