Iran hanged 13 convicted criminals on Wednesday, including the mother of two young children , reported AFP.

The mullahs’ henchmen hanged in public three men identified as Safar AL Nazari, 36, Sohbat’ollah Maleki, 39 and Habib Oliaee in the Motahari Square in the holy city of Qom, the official news agency IRNA reported on Wednesday.

“The death sentence for these (three) people was issued by Qom’s Islamic revolutionary court … and was carried out this morning,” the mullahs’ judiciary official Hoda Tarshizi said.

Two prisoners were also hanged in the prison yard in the southeastern city of Zahedan in, the state-run news agency Fars reported on Monday.

The executions, the first reported in 2008, were the latest in a growing number of executions in the Islamic republic as the authorities impose a drive they say is aimed at improving security in society.
Human rights groups have accused Iran of excessive resort to the death penalty, but the authorities say capital punishment is an effective deterrent that is only used after an exhaustive judicial process, added AFP.