PanArmenian.Net
05 Aug 2016, 14:03 GMT+10
PanARMENIAN.Net - Iran has hanged up to 20 Sunni Muslim prisoners it says were involved in armed attacks, BBC News reports.
State media said the group was executed on Tuesday, August 4 and was responsible for killing women and children between 2009 and 2011.
Iran, which is predominantly Shia, executed at least 977 people last year, according to Amnesty International.
Rights groups have criticised the latest executions, saying the trials were unfair.
The US-based group, International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, said one of the men hanged, Shahram Ahmadi, claimed that the entire case against him was built on a forced confession.
None of the men's families were allowed to visit them before they were hanged, the organisation said.
Prosecutor-general Mohammad Javad Montazeri told Iranian television the men came from Kurdish areas and belonged to the extremist Tawhid and Jihad group.
Last year, Amnesty International said there had been a huge spike in the number of people executed in Iran, adding that courts were often "completely lacking in independence and impartiality".
The organisation said Iran was the second most prolific executioner in the world last year, after China, which executed more than 1,000 people.
After Iran, Pakistan executed 326 people, and Saudi Arabia 158 people, Amnesty International said.Get a daily dose of Hong Kong Herald news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Hong Kong Herald.
More InformationDHARAMSHALA, India: The Dalai Lama turned 90 on July 6, celebrated by thousands of followers in the Himalayan town of Dharamshala,...
PARIS, France: French military and intelligence officials have accused China of orchestrating a covert campaign to damage the reputation...
CULVER CITY, California: TikTok is preparing to roll out a separate version of its app for U.S. users, as efforts to secure a sale...
HONG KONG: China has fired back at the European Union in an escalating trade dispute by imposing new restrictions on medical device...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The U.S. government has granted GE Aerospace permission to resume jet engine shipments to China's COMAC, a person...
MOSCOW, Russia: This week, Russia became the first country to officially recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan since...
LONDON, U.K.: This week, BP appointed Simon Henry, former Shell finance chief, to its board as a non-executive director effective September...
OTTAWA, Canada: With Canada Post struggling to maintain operations amid labour unrest, rivals like FedEx and UPS are stepping in to...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. and global markets showed a mixed performance in Tuesday's trading session, with some indices edging higher...
PARIS, France: French military and intelligence officials have accused China of orchestrating a covert campaign to damage the reputation...
NEW DELHI, India: Birkenstock is stepping up its efforts to protect its iconic sandals in India, as local legal representatives conducted...
HONG KONG: China has fired back at the European Union in an escalating trade dispute by imposing new restrictions on medical device...