Tehran: Iran has executed a man who
claimed he was God, after he was found guilty of heresy and
corruption, the official Fars news agency reported Tuesday.
Abdulreza Gharabat -- who was hanged last Wednesday in
Ahvaz, southwest Iran -- was the 67th person to be executed
since January 1, according to a tally based on Iranian
media reports.
"He had long claimed to be God and had succeeded in
gathering around him young Arabs from Khuzestan province,"
which has a large Arab minority, Fars reported.
Given the current rate of around two a day, the number
of hangings in Iran is set to exceed the 179 publicly
announced in 2010.
In 2009, the last year for which complete statistics
are available, Iran executed 388 people, according to
international human rights groups, making it second only to
China in the number of people it put to death.
On Saturday, Iran hanged a Iranian-born naturalised
Dutch woman, Sarah Bahrami, 46, on drugs charges. She was
reportedly arrested in December 2009 after joining an
anti-government protest while visiting relatives.
Bureau Report
