An Iranian woman sentenced to the death penalty for killing a man she said was trying to rape her has been executed despite international calls to spare her life.
Reyhaneh Jabbari, 26, was hanged for premeditated murder this morning, the official IRNA news agency said today.
A petition against her sentence received more than 240,000 signatures but it was not enough to save her.
Ms Jabbari was accused of plotting to kill former intelligence agent Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi and stabbing him to death in 2007.
A court previously rejected her defence that Mr Sarbandi was trying to rape her when she killed him.
Ms Jabbari was hanged by the state after Mr Sarbandi's family refused to pardon her or accept blood money.
Amnesty International and other human rights groups had called on Iran's judiciary to halt the execution.
Before Ms Jabbari was killed, Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa programme, called for a re-trial.
She said: "Instead of repeatedly rescheduling Reyhaneh Jabbari’s execution date, the Iranian judiciary should order a re-trial that complies with international standards for fair trial without recourse to the death penalty."
Foreign Office minister Tobias Ellwood said there were "questions around due process" in the case.
He said: "The UK strongly opposes the use of the death penalty.
"I am very concerned and saddened that it has been used in the case of Reyhaneh Jabbari where there have been questions around due process.
"The UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran, Dr Ahmed Shaheed, noted that her conviction was allegedly based on confessions made while under threat, and the court failed to take into account all evidence into its judgment."
He continued: "Actions like these do not help Iran build confidence or trust with the international community.
"I urge Iran to put a moratorium on all executions."