RFERL:

Iranian media say a 34-year-old man had a hand chopped off as punishment for stealing livestock in the northeastern province of Razavi Khorasan.

The local, state-sponsored newspaper Khorasan reported that the amputation took place on January 17 in the central prison in the provincial capital, Mashhad.

In a statement, Amnesty International said that such an "unspeakably cruel" punishment showed the Iranian authorities' "complete disregard for human dignity."

"There is no place for such brutality in a robust criminal justice system," said Magdalena Mughrabi, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Director at the London-based rights group.

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