The moment Iranian protesters cut down two prisoners from the gallows gun shots were heard , police car were seen , people with guns are seen.Mayhem

A man is seen covered in blood and clutching his groin after gunshots are heard

The prisoners are shown being cut down from the gallows in the grainy video

A disturbing video showing the violent protests following an attempt to hang two convicted bank robbers in Iran has made its way on to the internet.

Five people were killed and around 25 injured after protesters tried to rescue Esmail Fathi-Zadeh and Mohammad Esfandiarpoor in Sirjan last Tuesday.

What started as a seemingly innocent protest against the public execution quickly turned into a violent bloodbath, culminating in a shoot-out between the protesters and the officials attempting to carry out the hanging.
A video of the dramatic scenes show Fathi-Zadeh and Esfandiarpoor being hanged from the gallows as protesters rush forward and hold their legs to stop them from choking, before someone else cuts the men down.

During the chaos gunshots can be heard and footage is shown of a man who has been shot in the groin in the gunfire exchange and is bleeding profusely.

A man who was reportedly shot by police during the protests is also shown in the video laying lifeless on the ground, apparently dead.
Those wounded in the protests were taken to local hospitals in Kerman, the provincial capital of Sirjan, for treatment, but some are still said to be in a critical state.

A group of local residents and relatives of the prisoners due to be hanged are reported to have been arrested.

A local news agency confirmed both Fathi-Zadeh and Esfandiarpoor have since been executed.

Crimes including murder, adultery, armed robbery, rape and drug trafficking have all been punishable by death since the 1979 Islamic revolution, when Iran's sharia law was introduced.

Iran is said to be second only to China in terms of the amount of people it has sentenced to execution - putting to death at least 346 people last year, according to figures released by Amnesty International.

While hangings are usually carried out inside prisons in Iran, they are sometimes held in public.



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