Iran hangs two men for a YouTube video

Published January 20th, 2013 - 10:43 GMT
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad flashes a victory sign ahead of his meeting with Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halaqi in Tehran. (AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad flashes a victory sign ahead of his meeting with Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halaqi in Tehran. (AFP PHOTO/BEHROUZ MEHRI)

Two men have been publicly hanged in Iran after officials became aware of a YouTube video apparently showing them assaulting a man with a machete, the state radio station reported on Sunday.

The men, both 34, were in the process of robbing their victim when the attack happened. They later uploaded the footage on the video sharing site themselves. 

According to Amnesty International, there were 360 executions in Iran during 2011 although the vast majority of death sentences are passed in murder trials.

Officials in Iran called for the trial and sentencing to be speeded up due to public outcry after the YouTube video, orginally posted in early December, was screened on state TV.

The men were officially convicted of "waging war against God".

 

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