Iran hanged 11 convicted drug traffickers on Thursday, state television reported, the latest in a series of executions in the country that rights groups say has the world's highest per capita execution rate.
The drug smugglers were executed in a prison in the central city of Shiraz, capital of Fars province, after the supreme court upheld their convictions, according to state television.
Murder, adultery, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking, homosexuality and apostasy -- the renouncing of Islam -- are all punishable by death under the Islamic law Iran has practised since its 1979 Islamic revolution.
Amnesty International says Iran, with a population of around 75 million, is 2nd only to China for the number of executions with at least 252 people put to death last year.
Tehran dismisses criticism of its justice system, saying it is implementing Islamic law and responding to a major drugs problem.
The state television report said security forces discover about 60 tonnes of narcotics each year in the province of Fars.
Iran is a transit route for narcotics smuggled from neighbouring Afghanistan, which produces more than 90 % of the world's supply of opium. More than 3,500 Iranian security personnel have been killed fighting drug smugglers since the revolution.
Source: Reuters, November 24, 2011
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