TEHRAN, Jan 6, 2008 (AFP) – Iran amputated the right hand and left foot of five criminals convicted of armed robbery and hostage-taking, the student ISNA news agency reported on Sunday.
The amputation, a legally permissible but rarely used punishment in Iran, was carried out in the presence of doctors in the southeastern city of Zahedan, capital of the restive Sistan-Baluchestan province.
The men, identified as M.A. Jalali, A.B. Righi, A. Righi, A.R. Roudini and D. Pahlevan, were found guilty of "acting against God" and "corruption upon this Earth" for taking part in the robberies and taking hostages.
The report did not say whether the punishment was carried out in prison or in public.
Amputations, which are allowed under Iran’s Islamic sharia law, are only occasionally reported in Iran. The punishment being meted out to a group of criminals at a single time appears unprecedented in recent years.
The amputations come amid a campaign the authorities say is aimed at improving security in society which has led to an increasing number of executions in the Islamic republic, many of them in public.
