Iran has hanged a drug smuggler in the southern city of Zarand in Kerman province, ISNA news agency reported on Tuesday, quoting a judiciary official.
Zarand prosecutor Mehdi Bakhshi said the convict, who was only identified as Ali K., was hanged in the city's prison, ISNA reported. It did not say when the execution was carried out.
The latest hanging brings to 35 the number of executions reported in Iran so far this year, according to an AFP count based on media reports. Most of the people executed have been drug traffickers.
Iran executed at least 179 people in 2010.
The Islamic republic says the death penalty is essential to maintain law and order and applied only after exhaustive judicial proceedings.
Murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking, homosexuality and adultery are punishable by death in the Iran, which along with China, Saudi Arabia and the United States has one of the highest numbers of executions each year.
Source: Agence France-Presse, January 17, 2011
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