Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani
Following an international outcry, Iranian authorities have reportedly announced that a woman convicted of adultery will not be stoned to death. But her lawyer today insisted that the prospect remained real.
“I have yet to be told of any stay in implementation of the sentence,” Mohammad Mostafavi told AFP. “My client remains in prison.”
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, held in a Tabriz prison since 2006, has already received a severe flogging for an “illicit relationship” when she was tried by another court for adultery.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague called the sentence “medieval”, saying such punishment would “disgust and appall” the world.
Mehrangiz Kar, a leading Iranian women’s rights activist and recipient of the National Endowment for Democracy’s 2002 Democracy Award describes how such sentences are implemented:
Imagine a woman dying under a rain of stones while buried in the ground to the top of her breasts. Imagine faceless figures throwing pebbles at her. Imagine her last thoughts, wishes and dreams. Imagine her hoping to magically survive this brutal punishment.
Imagine her children watching her bleed and moan as people throw stones with ignorance and cruelty. Imagine this nightmare taking place under the present-day laws of a country.
Imagine a country where lawyers, journalists, human rights and women’s rights advocates who courageously speak out against unjust laws often face grave consequences such as detention or exile.
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