Child rapist hanged in Iranian square

A serial child rapist was hanged in a public square of a Iranian town today as residents blew whistles in approval of the execution.

Mohammad Ali Firouzi, 34, was strung up from a crane in Marvdasht, the town where he committed the crimes, said Judge Karam Ali Bahrami.

Hundreds of people went to witness the hanging. Some threw stones at the body and others blew whistles in approval of the execution.

Bahrami had sentenced Firouzi to death eight times, one for each rape case he admitted and 173 lashes for other counts of rape and molestation he was convicted of.

Firouzi had also been found guilty of raping 15 other children, plus kidnapping and molesting 36 others, some of whom he robbed.

The judge said Firouzi received 173 lashes – 74 for robbery and molestation and 99 for the 15 rape counts he did not confess to – before being executed.

Families of victims said most of Firouzi’s victims were aged between five and nine years. Firouzi was married and had a baby.

Convicts are hanged in public in Iran only if a court deems that their offences injured public sentiments.