Almost stoned to death

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani

News outlets over the past several days have reported the case of Iranian widow, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a 43-year-old mother of two. Ashtiani has been in prison for five years and has received 99 lashes for alleged adultry.

According to an msnbc.com article:  “In May 2006, a criminal court in East Azerbaijan province found Ashtiani guilty of having had an “illicit relationship” with two men following the death of her husband.”

A later court found that the alleged relationship happened while her husband was still alive, a claim Ashtiani denies.

For the alleged crime, she was to be buried up to her breasts and then stoned to death, some reports said as early as this weekend. A punishment the Iranian government now denies. This is from an msnbc.com report: “The Iranian Embassy in London on Thursday denied reports by media and human rights groups that a convicted adulterer would face death by stoning for her crime.”

Human rights groups, scores of celebrities and Ashtinai’s children all called for leniency.

More on this case at this link.

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