By DPA,
Tehran : Two men were stoned to death in the north-eastern Iranian city of Mashad, a judiciary spokesman said Tuesday.
The Fars news agency quoted Ali-Reza Jamshidi as saying that two men were stoned to death last month in Mashad for having committed murder and adultery.
The spokesman said that although the judiciary had recommended abolishing stoning, which has been criticized by human rights organisations as cruel and inhumane, the ban has not yet been turned into a law.
Stoning is implemented in Iran mainly as punishment for offences related to illegitimate sex, such as adultery.
Judiciary chief Ayatollah Hashemi Shahrudi ordered the courts to halt stoning due to negative international impact, but some courts continue to issue the sentence, especially in the provinces.
During the stoning process, men are buried up to their waist and women up to their necks and then stones are thrown against their head and body until they die. But if a person would manage to escape from the hole, they are acquitted and free to go.
Jamshidi said that in another stoning which was also carried out in Mashad last month, one man did escape from the hole.