Photo: Arash Khamooshi /Isna

Iran has one of the worst human rights records in the world when it comes to public executions, which are usually carried out using cranes that lift the condemned person by a noose around the neck in front of a crowd of spectators. They are typically conducted in unregulated settings, and children are often present.

Amnesty International voiced its alarm over a surge of executions in the country at the beginning of this year, with 33 carried out in just one week.

At least 369 people were put to death in the country last year (a figure that is topped only by China), although Amnesty and other organisations have raised concerns that more executions are taking place in secret, with trials carried out behind closed doors.

"In Iran drug-related offences are tried in Revolutionary Courts which routinely fall far short of international fair trial standards. The reality in Iran is that people are being ruthlessly sentenced to death after unfair trials, and this is unacceptable," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Words: Anna Brech, Photos: Rex Features

Extraordinary scenes as mother saves her son's killer from the noose