By DPA,
Tehran : Twelve members of a rebel group are to be hanged by the end of next week, a judicial officer said Saturday.
The men are members of the Sunni rebel group Jundallah (Soldiers of God), including Abdol-Hamid Rigi, the brother of the group’s leader Abdolmalik Rigi.
Ebrahim Hamidi told Fars news agency that the 12 men would be hanged by Friday in Zahdean, capital of the Sistan-Baluchestan province.
Besides drug-trafficking and kidnapping, Iran accuses Jundullah of sowing discord between Shias, who form the majority of Iranian Muslims, and the Sunni minority living mainly in the south-eastern and south-western provinces of Iran.
Bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, Sistan-Baluchestan is a major transit route for narcotics and also has been hit by a string of attacks and kidnappings that authorities blame on Jundullah.