21 executions in Arak (central Iran) since March 2008: 15 executions were not reported previously

Iran Human Rights, March 21: According to the official Iranian news agency IRNA, 21 people have been hanged in the central province in the Iranian year (starting from 20 March 2008- ).

According to the report, Nabiollah Heydari, head of the security forces in teh Central province, said in a press conference held on MArch 12: " 21 people have been executed in different prisons of the Central province during last year. 17 of those hanged were convicted of drug trafficking, while 4 were charged with murder".

Using the official Iranian media, Iran Human Rights reported 6 executions in the Central province during this time period. This indicates that the actual execution numbers are much higher than what is reported in the Iranian media.

According to the php?article958" class='spip_in'>annual report on death penalty published by Iran Human Rights, at least 350 people were executed in 2008 in Iran.

The report emphasized that the actual number is probably much higher since only some of the executions are reported by the media.