200 WATCH AS IRAN EXECUTES 5 FOR DRUG OFFENCES

IRAN: As dawn broke over a shabby neighbourhood on the eastern edge
of Iran's capital Tehran yesterday, executioners hanged four men and
one woman, lifting them slowly on cranes, their legs kicking the air.

The five were convicted of drug dealing after a raid on a tangled
warren of houses named the "island" in the Khak-e Sefid area of the
city less than a month ago.

"May God forgive me," said Fariba Tajiani Emamqoli as a female
executioner placed the noose over her headscarf and around her neck.
One of the men struggled to free his tied hands in a futile attempt
at escape.

"Allahu akbar - God is great," the crowd of some 200 onlookers
shouted as the five cranes mounted on the back of trucks buzzed into
action. Those at the back, including women holding toddlers and
babies, strained to get a better look.

While public hangings are rare in Tehran, outside the capital they
are common. The UN estimates there were 130 executions in the first
seven months of last year.

The government estimates that there are around two million drug users
among Iran's 63 million people. Opium has always been used in Iran,
but officials worry that heroin is taking over as the drug of choice.

A recent increase in the price of opium, and a drop in the cost of
heroin, has caused particular concern. Anyone caught with more than
30 grams (about one ounce) of heroin or five kg (11 lb) of opium
faces death.

Many Western countries have contributed to Iran's fight against
drugs. Britain has given nearly UKP 2.75 million to a UN programme
helping to equip Iranian security forces with night-vision goggles,
jeeps and bullet-proof vests. Other EU nations balk at helping Iran
send smugglers to the gallows. An Iranian judiciary official has said
some 800 people are now on death row for drugs offences. - (Reuters)