Iranian authorities on Saturday carried out a public execution of a man convicted of raping and murdering a young girl, according to the country’s judiciary.

The execution took place in the northwestern city of Bukan, where the victim’s family had taken part in the legal process and requested that the death sentence be carried out publicly, the judiciary’s Mizan Online news website reported.

“The case was given special attention due to the emotional impact it had on public opinion,” Mizan quoted the provincial chief justice, Naser Atabati, as saying.

The man was sentenced to death in March, a ruling that was later upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court.

Authorities said the public execution was carried out “at the request of the victim’s family and citizens, due to the emotional impact the case had on society,” Atabati added.

While public executions—typically by hanging—are not routine in Iran, they are conducted in cases considered particularly severe.

Both murder and rape carry the death penalty in Iran, which human rights groups such as Amnesty International say is the second most prolific user of capital punishment after China. (Saturday Tribune)

•Capital punishment remains central to Iran’s sharia-based legal system, established after the 1979 revolution.(Reuters/Representational Image)