The Islamic penal code envisages stiff sentences for...

The Islamic penal code envisages stiff sentences for a range of social, sexual and political offences, including frequent lashing and even executions. "Some of the hangings envisaged in our laws are not necessary from a religious point of view and the system can replace them with other sentences," said judiciary spokesman Hossein Sadeqi. "We should resort to the death sentence in very exceptional and unique cases, and not hang people for crimes that are not too heavy," he told Reuters in an interview on.