OSLO, Apr 21, 2011 (AFP) – Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere on Thursday blasted a sharp hike in public executions in Iran and the high use of the death penalty in the country.
“The increased number of public executions using brutal methods such as suffocation by being hoisted up by a crane are particularly grotesque and not worthy of a modern society,” Stoere said in a statement.
He added Norwegian research showed Iran had executed 15 people in public so far this year, compared to 19 for all of last year.
A foreign ministry spokesman told AFP the data was obtained through human rights activists in Iran as well as international organisations.
