Iran on Saturday publicly executed a man convicted of raping and murdering a young girl in the northwestern city of Bukan, according to the judiciary’s Mizan online news website.The public execution took place at the request of the victim’s family, who were involved in the legal proceedings. The man was sentenced to death in March, with the ruling later upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court. Naser Atabati, the provincial chief justice said, as quoted by Mizan, “at the request of the victim’s family and citizens, due to the emotional impact the case had on society,”While public executions in Iran are not routine, they are carried out in cases considered especially serious. Under Iranian law, both rape and murder are punishable by death. According to human rights groups including Amnesty International, Iran ranks as the world’s second-highest executioner after China.