The Grand Bazaar in Tehran. Executions are common in Iran, according to rights groups. AFP
The Grand Bazaar in Tehran. Executions are common in Iran, according to rights groups. AFP
The Grand Bazaar in Tehran. Executions are common in Iran, according to rights groups. AFP
The Grand Bazaar in Tehran. Executions are common in Iran, according to rights groups. AFP

Iran executes five men convicted of gang rape


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Iran hanged five men convicted of gang-raping a woman in the north-western city of Marand last year, authorities have said.

The men were executed after their sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court, the judiciary's Mizan news reported, citing Marand's public prosecutor.

They were found guilty of kidnapping and gang-raping a woman in East Azerbaijan province after the victim reported her ordeal to the city prosecutor.

Last month, Iran executed three men found guilty of raping women after luring them to a fake cosmetic clinic and injecting them with an anaesthetic.

Executions are common in Iran, which puts more people to death than any other country except China, according to rights groups.

At least 353 people were executed in the first six months of this year alone, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights said last month.

Most are executed on drug-related charges and moharebeh – or enmity against God – a vague charge which has been used to execute anti-regime protesters for joining the popular movement last autumn.

Iran's judiciary is known to hand down the death sentence in speedy, closed-door trials widely seen as unlawful and without due process.

In one case, a young protester was given 15 minutes to plead his case before being sentenced to death, convicted of murdering a security guard during the demonstrations.

Members of the Baloch minority made up 20 per cent of those executed so far this year, and juvenile offenders are also often put to death.

British-Iranian national Ali Reza Akbari was executed by Tehran in January after being convicted of spying for Britain, promoting renewed UK sanctions.

Mr Akbari formerly served as Iran's deputy defence minister and was accused of involvement in the assassination of senior nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

Tehran often levels accusations of espionage against dissidents and dual or foreign citizens.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Updated: August 09, 2023, 9:23 AM