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The latest hangings bring the total number of executions so far this year to 55 on average more than two a day according to an AFP count based on media reports. Most of them have been drug traffickers.
In 2010, Iran hanged at least 179 people, according to media reports. Along with China, Saudi Arabia and the United States, Iran has one of the highest numbers of executions each year. Murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking and adultery are among the crimes punishable by death in Iran.