Man sentenced to death in Iran for drinking alcohol

From AFP:

TEHRAN -- A young Iranian man has been sentenced to hang for repeatedly drinking alcohol which is strictly banned in the Islamic republic, the Etemad newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old, identified only as Mohsen, was handed down the death penalty by a criminal court after being found guilty of drinking alcohol for a fourth time, the daily said.

"The defendant in this case has been sentenced to death and the official notification will be given soon," it quoted Judge Jalil Jalili as saying.

"According to article 179 of the Islamic penal code, if someone drinks twice and is punished for it on each occasion he should be executed on the third offence," Jalili said.

See how lenient the Iranians were in not hanging him after the third offense?

Truly, Allah is most merciful.