Two men were hanged in western Iran this morning

Iran Human Rights: Three days after executing 11 people, five of whom were hanged in public, Iranian authorities publicly hanged two prisoners in the city of Kermanshah (western Iran) this morning.

Iran Human Rights, May 29:According to the official site of the Kermanshah Judiciary, two men were hanged on Azadi Square this morning. The men were identified as P. Mohammadi Poshtehrizeh, convicted of raping a 12-year-old boy, and A. Namaki, convicted of raping a 9-year-old girl. The charges have not been confirmed by independent sources.

According to official reports, Iranian authorities have executed at least 54 people in the month of May 2011.15 of the executions were carried out in public.

On May 26th five men were hanged in two different cities in Iran. One man was hanged in Qazvin, and a young civilian citizen was used to carry out the public execution.

It is believed that the Iranian authorities have increased the number of public executions to spread fear among Iranian citizens as the anniversary of the June 2009 protests approaches.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the international spokesperson for IHR said, "The main goal of the Iranian authorities by executing is not to fight crime but to spread fear among the people seeking fundamental changes in the country. Iranian authorities want the world to become immune to executions, but we urge the global community to react and condemn every single execution in Iran."