Iran on Saturday hanged a man convicted of murdering a child in the city of Qom, south of the capital Tehran, the Fars news agency reported.
The man sent to the gallows was only identified by the initials HS and was sentenced to death after the court found him guilty of killing an eight-year-old boy who was on his way from home to a nearby grocery shop.
He was hanged in a prison in Qom in the presence of the victim's family.
The latest hanging brings to 172 the number of executions reported in Iran so far this year, according to a news agency tally based on media and official reports.
Iranian media reported 179 hangings last year but international human rights groups say the actual number was much higher, ranking the Islamic republic second only to China in the number of people it executed.
Tehran says the death penalty is essential to maintain law and order, and applied only after exhaustive judicial proceedings. Murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking and adultery are among the crimes punishable by death in Iran.
Source: ZEE NEWS
