Iran hangs three prisoners comdemned for rape: state agency

— Iran hanged on Monday three men convicted of raping 12 women and murdering seven of them in a town south of Tehran, the official IRNA news agency reported.
The men, identified by their first names as brothers Alireza and Amir and Afghan citizen Dolat-Khan, were hanged in a prison in Varamin, a small town 30 kilometres south of Tehran, IRNA and other media said.
These were the first executions reported in Iran this year.
Iran hanged at least 270 people in 2009 according to an AFP count based on news reports.
In 2008, Iran executed 246 people, the highest number in any country bar China.
Tehran says the death penalty is necessary for maintaining public security and is applied only after exhaustive judicial proceedings.
Murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking and adultery are all punishable by death in the Islamic republic.