Iran executes two brothers over armed robberies

Iranian authorities hanged two brothers found guilty of carrying out hundreds of armed robberies in several provinces, the judiciary said Wednesday.

The judiciary's Mizan Online news agency said Hamid Najafi and Saeed Najafi were hanged after judicial proceedings and confirmation of their death sentences by the Supreme Court.

Mizan said the two were charged with “corruption on earth” and “moharebeh,” or waging war against God, as well as armed robbery, carrying and storing illegal firearms and ammunition, shooting at officers and people, and creating terror.

Mizan said they were part of a gang involved in more than 200 armed robbery cases, including attacks on hospitals in Tehran, Alborz, Mazandaran, Qom and Isfahan provinces.

Iranian authorities executed at least 1,639 people last year, a record high since 1989, according to Iran Human Rights, based in Norway, and Together Against the Death Penalty, based in Paris. Amnesty International says Iran carries out the second-highest number of executions in the world after China.