IRAN. SEVEN HANGED FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING

Iran hanged seven men in public who were convicted of drug trafficking in the town of Mahan, 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the provincial capital of Kerman, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. Mahan lies on a road that heads towards the Sistan-Baluchestan province which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, and is a major transit point for the trafficking of drugs towards Europe. The area often sees abductions and deadly shootouts between armed drug traffickers and the security forces. The men were identified as Ali Orang, Davoud Talebi, Majid Barzekar, Majid Man’ami, Mohammad Bameri, Omar Bameri, and Mehdi Pour-Sheikh-Ali. The hangings come a week after Mahan's police chief was shot dead in the town, although it was unclear whether the executions were linked to his killing.