Iran hangs five men convicted of murder-agency

TEHRAN, Mar 7 (Reuters) Iran executed today five men convicted of murder, the semi-official Fars News Agency said.

The men were hanged early in the morning at Evin prison in the Iranian capital Tehran, the agency added.

London-based Amnesty International says it recorded 177 executions in Iran in 2006, a number it says is one of the highest rates in the world.

Iran dismisses charges of rights abuses by Western countries and organisations. It points to what it says are abuses in the West, citing for example detainees held at a US prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

REUTERS SP KN2237