2 hanged in Iran for murder, 9 sentenced to death

TEHRAN, July 31 (AFP) - Two Iranians convicted of murder have been hanged in Tehran's Ghasr prison, the government daily Iran reported Thursday.

Hossein-Ali Yussefi was executed for stabbing his wife to death with a knife because of her "suspect" behaviour, while Said Rafiie, a young gardener, killed a 72-year-old man and his sister, aged 75, during a break-in at their villa.

The hangings were carried out on Wednesday with the approval of the country's supreme court, Iran said.

The newspaper also reported that two young Iranians found guilty of killing nine women after robbing them in the eastern town of Arak have been handed multiple death sentences.

The women were strangled with their headscarves, in a spate of murders between February 2001 and March 2002, said Iran. One of the convicts has also been sentenced to 100 lashes of the whip for "illicit sexual relations".

Apart from murder, Islamic Iran also imposes the death penalty for rape, blasphemy and serious drug trafficking.