Iran amputates hands of two convicted thieves

Iranian authorities have amputated the hands of two men who had been repeatedly convicted of theft, the judiciary said on Tuesday.

The amputations went ahead after the verdicts handed down by a court in the central province of Isfahan were upheld by the supreme court, the judiciary's Mizan Online news website said.

"The sentence of hand amputation was carried out against two professional thieves, who were convicted of multiple offences... including theft, as well as vandalism and intentional bodily harm," Isfahan chief justice Asadollah Jafari told Mizan.


He said the judiciary would continue to take a firm stance against actions that threaten public safety.

Earlier this month, Iran's police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said tackling purse and mobile phone theft was a "priority that the police will deal with firmly".

The sharia-based penal code introduced in Iran after the Islamic revolution of 1979 provides for amputation as a punishment for certain offences, although human rights groups have condemned its use as "cruel" and "inhumane".