KurdistanObserver.com   Italy, Iran In War Of Words Over Death Penalty REUTERS Aug 7, 2007 ROME / TEHRAN  A call by Italy for Iran to immediately stop executions has boiled over into a diplomatic row, with Tehran accusing Rome of meddling in its internal affairs and Italy dismissing that as an exaggerated response. The spat between Italy, which is leading a push for a global ban on the death penalty, and Iran, which has one of the highest rates of execution in the world, began last week when Rome expressed "strong anxiety" about recent hangings in Iran. The Italian government told Iran's Ambassador that it was particularly concerned that some were put to death on charges of homosexuality and condemned death sentences handed down to two Kurdish journalists last week. A spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry retorted by saying Italy should not interfere in its internal affairs- in turn prompting the Italian deputy foreign minister to say Rome was not meddling but driven by a "battle of principle". Italy's foreign under-secretary responsible for yesterday criticised Iran's "absolutely exaggerated" reaction. "Iran is a country that abuses the death penalty and negates fundamental freedom," Gianni Vernetti was quoted by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera as saying. "In this context, it is a right and duty to raise one's voice." The number of executions doubled to at least 177 last year, according to rights group Amnesty. Before the latest executions in July and August, Amnesty had said at least 124 people had been put to death so far in 2007. Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said: "Every independent nation, based on its own internal laws, will prosecute criminals who have been convicted of a crime." Italy has long advocated a ban on the death penalty and in May was mandated by the European Union to lead a push for a UN moratorium on the death penalty across the world. Iran hanged four men for drug smuggling, murder and other crimes yesterday, Iranian media reported. Three were put to death in a jail in the southeastern city of Zahedan, while one was hanged in public in the northern town of Babolsar. The men, identified as Abdolaziz Esmail Zehi, Abdoljamal Shahbakhsh and Ali Akbar Shahbakhsh, were hanged yesterday morning in a prison in the provincial capital of Zahedan, the website of state broadcasting said. The hangings brought to at least 154 the number of executions carried out in the Islamic Republic so far this year, most of them by hanging and often in public. Last week, Iran sentenced two Kurdish dissident journalists to death for mounting an "armed struggle against the system" and hanged 11 people, most of them in public, including two in the capital Tehran for the assassination of a judge two years ago. It also hanged 16 men convicted of rape and other offences on July 22, most of whom were arrested in a crackdown on "immoral behaviour" which began in April. Homosexuality is among crimes punishable by death in Iran, which has implemented Islamic Shariah law since the 1979 revolution. Some 99 countries ban capital punishment while 69 still use it. Six countries-China, Iran, Iraq, the United States, Pakistan and Sudan-account for about 90 percent of the total, and China the bulk of these.       Copyright © 2002, Kurdistan Observer