TEHRAN - Iran amputated the hands of five convicted thieves inside a prison in the western city of Hamedan on Thursday, the semi-official ILNA news agency said.

„The average age of the five thieves on whom the hand amputation verdict was carried out was over 25 and they had committed major thefts,” the agency quoted local judiciary official Akbar Biglari as saying.

Biglari said the amputation verdict is not automatic for all those who commit a theft and some 14 criteria should be met before the punishment is carried out.

„When a hand gets used to robbery and causes harm to people it must be shortened,” Biglari said.

He said the amputation verdict is usually performed on a thief who has committed more than 100 instances of theft. It serves as a deterrent to others, he said.

Under Iran’s Islamic sharia law, theft can be punished by amputation.