Shiraz, known as the city of poets, literature, wine and flowers, was the scene of a public exection on Saturday.

Three convicts who had committed many crimes including armed robbery, kidnapping and murder were hanged publicly in the city of Shiraz in southern Iran on Saturday morning. The convicts had also been implicated in the killings of Shiraz police officer Ghorbani and Isfahan police officer Majid Ghassemi.

Related Article: Death Penalty in 2010: Executing countries left isolated after decade of progress

Countries which continue to use the death penalty are being left increasingly isolated following a decade of progress towards abolition, Amnesty International has said today in its new report Death Sentences and Executions in 2010.

A total of 31 countries abolished the death penalty in law or in practice during the last 10 years but China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the USA and Yemen remain amongst the most frequent executioners, some in direct contradiction of international human rights law.

... Payvand News - 04/18/11 ... --