Four men are hanged in Iran for gang-raping mountain climber in front of her husband

The horrifying attack happened while the couple were hiking in Khorasan Razavi province, Iran. The perpetrators were hanged on March 15 after an extensive investigation.

Fariman police identified four culprits as Ruhollah Javidi Rad, Mohammad Sayadi Baghansgani, Mohammad Hosseini and Mohammad Watandoost. These four men were charged with kidnapping, rape of women and violent threats of 1 man.

The defendants tied up the husband’s hands and feet before raping the wife in front of him. The Khorasan Razavi Criminal Court brought the case to the Supreme Court and the four attackers were sentenced to death by hanging at the central prison in Mashhad.

Four men are hanged in Iran for gang-raping mountain climber in front of her husband
Four men were hanged in Iran for collective rape of a woman in front of the victim’s husband (document photo: AP)

Usually, Iranian law is not on the side of rape victims. They often face allegations of adultery, vulgar behavior or immoral behavior after denouncing a sexual crime. Meanwhile, rapists were convicted only if they had testimony from four male witnesses or a large number of male and female witnesses.

If there are not enough witnesses, the court can only convict the perpetrator’s confession or “judge’s information”. The risk of being charged after reporting a sexual assault is a barrier that many women do not dare to report.

Iran is one of six countries in the world to execute rape criminals.

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