Iran executes in public a serial rapist convicted in dozens of cases

Iran's state media say authorities have executed in public a man convicted of raping dozens of women over two decades

TEHRAN, Iran -- An Iranian man convicted of raping dozens of women over the past two decades has been executed in public, the country's state media reported on Wednesday.

The state-owned IRAN newspaper said Mohammad Ali Salamat was hanged after Iran’s Supreme Court confirmed his death sentence earlier in October. He was put to death at dawn Tuesday in a cemetery in the western city of Hamedan.

Some 200 women had accused Salamat, a 43-year old who ran a pharmacy and a gym in the city, of rape. He is said to have committed the crimes over the past 20 years.

Reports by Iranian media said that in many of the cases, Salamat raped his victims after proposing marriage or dating them. He allegedly provided some with abortion pills, which are illegal in Iran.

He was arrested in January in what was the biggest number of rape case ever attributed to a single offender in Iran. Following his arrest, hundreds of people gathered at the city’s justice department, demanding capital punishment for Salamat.

U.N. experts said in September that Iran is among the world’s top countries that carry out executions. Increasing number of executions in Iran has prompted an outcry by human rights groups.

Rape and adultery are among offences in Iran punishable by death. In 2005, Iran publicly hanged a 24-year-old man who raped and killed 20 children. In 1997, authorities hanged a 28-year-old man for kidnapping, raping and killing nine girls and women in Tehran.