An Iranian man known as the "vampire of the desert" was facing the death sentence yesterday following the gruesome murders of 17 children and three adults in the slums of Pakdasht, near the capital, Tehran. Relatives of the victims greeted the verdict by throwing chairs at the defendants as the court heard that Mohammed Bijeh, 30, raped many of the children before strangling or bludgeoning them to death.
The accused was handed 16 life sentences and his accomplice, Ali Baghi, a 24-year-old heroin addict, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
| In a separate incident, a 16 year old girl was beaten and hung for refusing the advances of a lecherous iman. |
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