Four-men in Iran have been hanged for gang-raping a woman whose husband was tied up and made to watch.
Ruhollah Javidi Rad, Mohammad Sayadi Baghansgani, Mohammad Hosseini and Mohammad Watandoost were all executed in Mashhad Central Prison following an investigation by Iranian authorities into the sickening crime which took place in the mountains of the Khorasan Razavi province. Iran is one of only six countries in the world to carry a death-sentence for rape.
The executions came after the Criminal Court of Khorasan Razavi referred to the Iranian Supreme Court.
It is reported that the man and his wife were climbing through the hills when they were pounced upon by the gang. The woman was brutally raped, and the man was tied up and subjected to threats of extreme violence.
The conviction comes in a country where violence towards women, and the sexual abuse of women, is often not prosecuted or followed-up on by authorities.
In most cases in Iran, a conviction for rape can only be found if the rape has been witnessed by at least four men, or five or more men and women. As most rapes and sexual assaults occur when no-one else is present, this makes it extremely difficult for any convictions to be secured against rapists and sexual offenders.
The only exception to these rules is if there is a confession by the suspect or a judge intervenes. It is unclear what legal process was used to secure the convictions of the four men in this case.
What is perhaps even more troublesome, is that women are often subjected to public shaming or even prosecution themselves if they come forward and report rape or sexual assault but don’t have huge amounts of evidence to back it up.
The case led to some women in Iran taking to social media to vent their frustrations at the current laws and speak out about their own experiences.
Legal analyst Nargess Tavassolian, commenting on the women speaking out, said:
"It is hard to say whether these types of crimes have increased in Iran but because of the widespread use of social media, these crimes are being more exposed. The Judiciary pays no attention to the rule of law and not only does it not observe international law, but also sometimes ignores Iranian laws."
[h/t: Daily Mail]
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