Iranian Mother Sentenced to Death by Stoning

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[boodog]

Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani, a mother of two, was given a death sentence by Iranian authorities in 2006 for adultery. After 99 lashes, her lawyer says she was forced into a confession. She is now behind bars, awaiting the stoning, which could come at any time.

Ashtiani, 42, will be buried up to her chest, according to an Amnesty International report citing the Iranian penal code. The stones that will be hurled at her will be large enough to cause pain but not so large as to kill her immediately.

http://us.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/07/05/iran.stoning/index.html

[Irishgirl]

That is just barbaric. I notice they will not allow anyone to witness this. I wonder who gets to throw the first stone?

The public won't be allowed to witness the stoning, Mostafaei said, for fear of condemnation of such a brutal method.

http://us.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/07/05/iran.stoning/index.html

I hope there is an international outcry and this poor woman can be saved.

[pacos_gal]

You are correct Irish, it IS Barbaric!   There have already been 126 executions this year in Iran according to the article.  To make matters even worse, as if they could be, supposedly for such a sentence to occur there should have been at least 4 witness's against her, yet there were None! 

Is this the case of a  husband wanting out of a marriage, so makes false allegations against his wife?  How horrible to think so.  I don't think any country that can do this type of thing to women, or who still abide by antiquarian laws, can call itself a modern anything especially on the world stage. 
 
 

[Irishgirl]

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/07/irans-latest-barbarism.html

She was forced to confess after being subjected to 99 lashes, human rights lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei said Thursday in a telephone interview from Tehran. She later retracted that confession and has denied wrongdoing. Her conviction was based not on evidence but on the determination of three out of five judges, Mostafaei said. She has asked forgiveness from the court but the judges refused to grant clemency. Iran's supreme court upheld the conviction in 2007.

[Sirenoftitan]

The authorities in Iran have announced that a woman convicted of adultery will not be stoned to death.

But it is not clear whether they have lifted the death sentence against Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who has been in prison in Tabriz since 2006.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/10565103.stm

Twelve Iranian women and three men are on death row awaiting execution by stoning despite an apparent last-minute reprieve for a mother of two who had been facing the horrific sentence after being convicted of adultery.

Human rights groups and activists welcomed a wave of international publicity and protests over the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, 43, who was awaiting execution in the western Iranian town of Tabriz after what her lawyer called an unjust trial and a sham conviction.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/08/iran-death-stoning-adultery

[Forty Watt]

Iran has put fresh pressure on the woman it last month sentenced to death by stoning, demanding the names of those involved in the campaign for her release. [...]

The 43-year-old mother of two has been interrogated inside Tabriz prison over the names of the people who have been in touch with her family and the way her photo has been distributed among the media, the Guardian has learned. [...]

A campaign website for Sakineh, freesakineh.org, has attracted more than 120,000 signatories since last week. Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Michael Bloomberg, Michael Douglas, Shirin Ebadi, Peter Gabriel, Hanif Kureishi, Bernard-Henri Lévy, Ian McEwan and David Remnick are among those backing the campaign.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/22/iran-stoning-woman-campaigners

[zyxomma]

I consider myself strong (for my size). I'm a hiker/camper/sailor/walker, and live up 4 flights of stairs. However, I don't know how well I'd hold up after 99 lashes. I'm a signer on the petition, and will continue to follow this case. Has anyone else seen the movie, "The Stoning of Soraya M?" It stars Shohreh Aghdashloo (you might know her sexy voice from "24" or "Flash Forward" on TV, or her roles in the films, "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" or "House of Saddam." It takes place in Afghanistan, not Iran (though Shohreh is an Iranian actress), and it's excellent.

[boodog]

I was wondering if the international publicity this case has gotten would be to her advantage or possibly cause more harm, behind the scenes, of course. It doesn't sound like she can win, either way.

[Sirenoftitan]

Authorities in Iran have issued an arrest warrant for an acclaimed Iranian lawyer and arrested his wife and brother-in-law over his involvement in the case of a woman sentenced to death by stoning.

Lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei's office in Tehran was ransacked, and he was interrogated in Evin prison for four hours on Saturday over his human rights activities and involvement in the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the 43-year-old mother of two who was convicted of adultery and whose plight in Iran has drawn international attention since her children launched a campaign for her release almost a month ago.

Iran stoning case lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei's relatives arrested by Saeed Kamali Dehghan, The Guardian

[Sirenoftitan]

Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has stepped into the international outcry over Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, by offering his country as a refuge, a move which raised hopes her life will be spared.

The surprise offer prompted an immediate reaction from Iran, which considers Brazil a key ally. Iranian officials softened their tone with Ashtiani's family over the weekend and official media reported full details of the story for the first time.

Iran stoning woman offered asylum by Brazil's president Lula by Saeed Kamali Dehghan, Tom Phillips and Rory Carroll, The Guardian

[Forty Watt]

That's a really good move.  Well done, Lula. 

He added: "I find myself imagining what would happen if one day there was a country in the world that would stone a man because he was cheating. Nothing justifies the state taking someone's life. Only God gives life and only He should take it away."

From Siren's link above.

[Sirenoftitan]

A lawyer who defended a woman sentenced to be stoned to death in Iran is now in Turkey, according to the UN refugee agency.

Mohamed Mostafaei was detained in Turkey because of passport problems but can apply for asylum if he wants to, the agency said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-10870522

[Sirenoftitan]

In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, the woman whose sentence of death by stoning triggered an international outcry has accused the Iranian authorities of lying about the charges against her to pave the way to execute her in secret.

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, 43, was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery but it was commuted to hanging after an international outcry. Her initial sentence was for "having an illicit relationship outside marriage" but Iranian officials have claimed that she was also found guilty of murdering her husband and should still face death by stoning.

Iranian facing stoning speaks: 'It's because I'm a woman' by Saeed Kamali Dehghan, The Guardian

Let's hope Lula's suggestion is acted upon.

[Sirenoftitan]

The Iranian woman whose sentence to death by stoning sparked an international outcry is feared to be facing imminent execution, after she was put on a state-run TV programme last night where she confessed to adultery and involvement in a murder.

Speaking shakily in her native Azeri language, which could be heard through a voiceover, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani told an interviewer that she was an accomplice to the murder of her husband and that she had an extramarital relationship with her husband's cousin. Her lawyer told the Guardian last night that his client, a 43-year-old mother of two, was tortured for two days before the interview was recorded in Tabriz prison, where she has been held for the past four years.

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani 'confesses' to murder on Iran state TV

[Irishgirl]

My God....that poor woman and her children. I don't think this is going to end in a good way at all.

[pacos_gal]

I agree Irish.  

[futurexpat?]

This is just really so sad.

[boodog]

French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy has spoken out in support of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, causing a state-run Iranian newspaper to call her "a prostitute" and "deserves to die".

Bruni-Sarkozy published an open letter in support of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, an Iranian woman convicted of adultery and sentenced to be stoned to death. Ashtiani is awaiting execution, but according to a statement by the Iranian Embassy in London, she will be hanged instead of stoned.

"Spill your blood, deprive your children of their mother? Why? Because you have lived? Because you have loved? Because you are a woman? An Iranian? Every part of me refuses to accept this," Bruni-Sarkozy wrote in her letter to Ashtiani.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/31/AR2010083103131.html

[Sirenoftitan]

Iran has reportedly sentenced Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani – the 43-year-old Iranian woman who faces execution after being convicted of adultery – to 99 lashes in prison for "spreading corruption and indecency" after allowing an unveiled picture of herself to be published in a British newspaper.

The claim, which could not be confirmed, comes from her family and a lawyer representing Mohammadi Ashtiani, based on reports from those who have recently left the prison in Tabriz where she has been held for the last four years.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/04/sakineh-mohammadi-ashtiani-lashes-photograph

[zyxomma]

Another great article from the Guardian about this and other cases against women in Iran:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/12/iran-women-fight-for-rights

Please read!