Iran 'executes Sunni militants'

（单词翻译）

 Iran 'executes Sunni militants¹'

Iran has executed members of a Sunni rebel （叛徒，反叛者）group blamed for a spate² of attacks in the south-east of the country, state media says.

However, there are conflicting reports（相互抵触的报道） as to whether all 14 of those convicted have been hanged or just some of them.

Tehran says the men are members of the Jundollah (God's Soldiers) Sunni group which it blames for a series of bombings and killings⁴.

Amnesty International had appealed for a stay of execution.

It said the convicts did not receive a fair trial.

The semi-official Fars news agency reported on Monday that the 14 would be executed in public in the city of Zahedan, in the south-eastern Sistan-Baluchestan province.

It said those to be hanged included the brother of the group's leader, Abdolmalek Rigi, who it described as Jundollah's second-in-command.

But Ebrahim Hamidi, who heads the judiciary（司法部） in the province, told Fars on Tuesday that the sentence for "some" of those convicted had been carried out inside a prison.

He said that Rigi's brother would be executed later in the week.

However, Iran state radio reported on Tuesday that all 14 had been executed.

It quoted Zahedan's prosecutor⁵, Mohammad Marzieh, as saying the men were hanged for killing³ dozens of civilians⁶, policemen and for bombings in the area.

Repeated attacks

Iran, which is predominantly Shia Muslim, says Jundollah is part of the Sunni Islamist al-Qaeda network.

Jundollah has claimed repeated attacks in the province, including a bombing in May in a Shia mosque⁷ in Zahedan that killed 25 people, Iranian media say.

Human rights groups accuse Iran of making excessive use of the death penalty but Tehran insists it is an effective deterrent⁸ that is used only after a lengthy⁹ judicial¹⁰ process. (本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)