Iran carries out execution of fortune-teller convicted of rapes

Authorities in central Iran executed a male fortune-teller for raping and sexually assaulting his clients, the judiciary said on Wednesday.

"A fortuneteller, who assaulted women and girls was executed in Yazd prison," said Hossein Tahmasebi, chief justice of the central province, according to the Iranian judiciary's Mizan Online website.

"The sentence of this rapist fortune-teller was carried out after being issued by the Revolutionary Court of Yazd and confirmed by the supreme judicial authority".

According to Tahmasebi, the man had "assaulted and raped women and girls under false pretences", using his fortune-telling services to deceive his clients.

Mizan reported that the convict was arrested sometime between March 2020 and March 2021 and that his request for amnesty was rejected because of "the number of complaints" against him.

The Islamic republic maintains the death penalty for several crimes, including rape and sexual assault.

In July 2023, Iran executed three men after they were convicted of raping women they had lured to a fake cosmetic surgery clinic and injected with anaesthetic drugs.

They were found guilty of conspiring in 12 cases of sexual assault in late 2021 in the southern province of Hormozgan.

Iran executes more people per year than any other nation except China, according to human rights groups including Amnesty.

It generally carries out executions by hanging.