Rights Groups Say 8 Executed In Iranian Prisons

Two rights groups have reported that eight people were executed in two Iranian prisons in the early hours of August 19. Haalvsh, a group that monitors rights violations against Iran's Baluch ethnic minority, said three Baluchis and two Afghan nationals were hanged in a prison in the central city of Yazd. Their charges varied from murder to carrying illicit drugs. Separately, the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights reported that three men had been executed in a prison in the southern city of Shiraz for similar charges. The group said Iran had executed at least 376 people this year. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, click here.