The case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a citizen of Iran, has drawn worldwide outrage over the last few weeks. After being accused and found guilty of committing adultery, a punitive crime in Iran, she was sentenced to death by the medieval and barbaric punishment of stoning..
Due to the indefatigable campaigning of human rights advocates and other activists around the world, this 43 year-old, mother of two was thought to have been given a reprieve by authorities just days ago. Today, however, Iranian officials have made a pair of surprise announcements. First, they now claim Sakineh to have been previously convicted as an accomplice in the murder of her late husband. According to the government spokesman, Sakineh supposedly acted in tandem with her adulterous lover to eliminate her husband from the scene. After an investigation, the latest version of this story goes, a trial produced a guilty verdict with a 10-year sentence - which was suspended as her children asked the court to pardon her crime. As a result of being guilty of both murder and adultery, the government official further stated that Sakineh will indeed be executed by whatever means the court decrees. Thus, stoning is still possible.
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Sakineh and her family have maintained her innocence on the charge of adultery consistently from the outset. This new tale of murder,which alleges her involvement, by the government must be taken with a grain of salt. The idea of an Islamic court sentencing a woman for killing her husband to only a ten-year jail term is unlikely at best. Moreover, would an Islamic court (or any court for that matter) essentially cancel her punishment for a heinous crime based the appeal of her children? It simply does not add up.
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Then again, why should it? As the Iranian regime is based on lies and propaganda to preserve its nearly absolute power over the populace, its corrupted court system can only be expected to follow suit.
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Human rights activists and world leaders must continue to press not only for the unconditional release of Sakineh but also the 15 others awaiting death by stoning in Iran. As twelve of these fifteen people slated for one of the cruelest punishments ever invented are women, women's rights organizations must also add their vociferous voices to the chorus as well. As witnessed in the cold-blooded murder of Neda last year during the election riots, women in Iran are systematically oppressed by the patriarchal, bloodthirsty elite in Tehran.
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While stoning is not a punitive measure found in The Koran, the practice is mentioned in the book of reputed sayings by Muhammad in The Hadith. Nevertheless, the only express punishment for adultery in Islamic law is to be given 99 lashes - a consequence Sakineh has apparently already endured.
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There is no room for torture in any form in the 21st century - whether it be carried out by throwing stones or raising a whip - and it can neither be made legal or legitimized by any court.
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If the world can save Sakineh, it just might be able to save Iran from its own government as well.
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(Picture: Sakineh)
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J Roquen