Iran hanged in public on Tuesday three men convicted of rape in the western city of Kermanshah, the ISNA news agency reported. The report said that the men had also filmed the victims being raped in order to use the films later for extortion. People who watched the executions chanted slogans praising the judiciary for executing such criminal, ISNA said. The latest hangings brings to 164 the number of executions reported in Iran so far this year, according to an AFP tally based on media and official reports. Iranian media reported 179 hangings last year but international human rights groups say the actual number was much higher, ranking the Islamic republic second only to China in the number of people it executed. Tehran says the death penalty is essential to maintain law and order, and applied only after exhaustive judicial proceedings.