Iran hangs 3 convicted rapists

Iran has hanged three men convicted of rape, two of them in public, Iranian media reported on Thursday. Mohammad M. and Mokhtar A. were hanged in public on Thursday in the northeastern city of Neyshabour after being convicted of raping a woman they kidnapped when they forcefully entered her home disguised as police, the Fars news agency reported. A third man convicted of serial rape was sent to gallows in a prison in the southern city of Kerman on Wednesday, the government newspaper Iran reported. The report did not identify the man but said he had been found guilty of 16 counts of rape, mostly of housewives. He gained entry to his victims\' homes by pretending to be calling to check the gas or electricity meter, the report said. The latest hangings bring to 152 the number of executions reported in Iran so far this year, according to an AFP count 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, making the Islamic republic second only to China in the number of people it put to death.