News

(3 July 2010) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran appealed to the Iranian Judiciary to halt the execution of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a 43-year old mother of two children convicted of adultery, who faces death by stoning, and for her case be reviewed or her request for a pardon be granted.

The Campaign also called on the Iranian parliament to immediately abolish the punishment of death by stoning.

The terms of the sentence under Iranian law call for Ashtiani to be killed with medium –sized stones, so she will die slowly, in great pain. She has already been punished with 99 lashes for having an “illicit relationship,” and later again charged, for the same crime, with adultery, which carries the death penalty in Iran. According to her lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaie, no evidence exists in her file to justify an adultery conviction, and as a member of the Azerbaijani minority, her inability to understand the language of the court prevented a fair trial.

“If Ashtiani is brutally stoned to death, especially under these circumstances, it will confirm the view that the Iranian judicial system is operating completely outside the norms of international human rights standards, and human decency,” stated Aaron Rhodes, a spokesperson for the Campaign.

“We appeal for a stay of execution and referral of this case for a fresh review,” he said.