Man Convicted Of Apostasy Hanged

REUTERS

TEHRAN - An Iranian man who attracted several disciples after claiming to be God was hanged for apostasy in the southwest of the country, the semi-official Fars news agency reported Monday.

Apostasy, murder, adultery, rape, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under Iran's sharia law, in practice since the country's 1979 Islamic revolution.

Fars said Abdolreza Gharabat, who was hanged last Wednesday, had deceived some people into worshipping him. The report said his followers were mostly "young people" in Khuzestan province.

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