IRAN: Judiciary official says woman to be stoned for husband's murder, not just adultery

In a surprise announcement, a judiciary official in provincial Iran said a woman who had been convicted and sentenced to stoning for adultery had also been convicted of murder.

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a 43-year-old mother of two in the Tabriz area, had been convicted of cheating on her late husband, apparently a murder victim, and sentenced to die by stoning, a ruling that is officially under review, according to Iranian judiciary officials.

But on Sunday, Malek Ejdar Sharifi, head of East Azerbaijan Province's judiciary, told the official Islamic Republic News Agency (in Persian): "Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani has not been convicted of illicit sex only," he said. ""She has been found guilty of numerous and extremely heavy offenses. She was sentenced to capital punishment [in 2006] in the criminal court in Tabriz, the center of the province, for committing murder, manslaughter and adultery."

That's fresh news. Up until Sharifi's comments, Iranian officials and her lawyer said she was only convicted of adultery. Her lawyer, Mohammad Mostafai, said his client had been convicted of having a hand in her husband's death but that the charge played no role in the death sentence against her, especially since her children did not want to pursue the murder charge against their mother. She was handed a 10-year sentence for the murder, her lawyer said.

"In the first place, the allegation was murder," the lawyer told Babylon & Beyond. "She was accused of killing her husband, but as her children forgave her ... she was pardoned and there was no more allegation against her. But to complicate the case, the court raised the issue of adultery."

Sharifi declined to outline Ashtiani's role in her husband's death, saying it would be just too darn shocking for the public. 

"We can't express the details of her crimes due to moral and humane considerations," he said. "If the way her husband has been murdered is expressed, the brutality and insanity of this woman would be laid bare to public opinion. Her contribution to the murder of her husband was so harsh and heart-breaking that many criminologists believe that it would have been better for her to have decapitated her husband."

Sharifi confirmed that the death sentence against Ashtiani is under review but said the decision to hold off on the execution had nothing to do with the negative light the case has shined on Iran's legal system.  

"The judiciary is firm and determined in enforcing the law," he said. "Anytime the head of the judiciary gives the nod, the execution of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani will be carried out, regardless of the media hype waged by Western media."

He described "self-declared promoters of human rights in the West" as hypocrites. "They commit crimes across the world against innocent nations, including Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine, but we hear no condemnation or protest from the so-called human rights bodies," he claimed.

In other news out of Tabriz, an Iranian human rights organization alleges that a 26-year-old woman was raped and murdered by pro-government Basiji militiamen last week after she was stopped for wearing clothes deemed not Islamic enough. 

According to the report by the Human Rights Activists News Agency (in Persian), the hard-line Islamic militiamen stopped Elnaz Babazadeh's car in the eastern Vali Asr district of the western Iran city because she was allegedly dressed improperly. (The blog Persian2English has an English translation of the report.)

"She resisted the forces and ignored the orders of the Basij forces," the report said. "Then the Basij forces, who initially stopped her, jumped into Elnaz's car and threatened her with a gun."

The Basiji militiamen beat and raped the 26-year-old, dumping her body close to the Emamiyeh cemetery, according to the report. 

The human rights group says that the person who killed her was the son of a high-ranking member of the Revolutionary Guard. Babazadeh's family has filed a court case against the alleged perpetrators. 

-- Los Angeles Times

Photo: Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani. Credit: Facebook

Comments

[Katie]

Aparently not everyone has kept up with the story from back when. The woman that confessed to the murder and claimed to be this woman was not her. They proved it, so her murder conviction was set aside. Her oldest son tried to prove to the world she was innocent, then, he had disappeared. They claim her son was arrested and badly beaten, and they fear he is dead.
Whoever murdered her husband, and I don't know have an opinion on who it was, but I do believe they have framed this woman for it. As for the adultrey charge, it may or may not be true. I have heard that they have already hanged her. Does anyone know if that is true?

[Frank]

Since everyone already knew this was a murder case already, no I would not have characterized the announcement by Iran as "surprising"

There is a video of her confessing to the murder after all.

[francesco]

Siamo tutti Sakineh Mohammadi ashtiani! "chi è senza peccato scagli la prima pietra" (ma guai a chi scaglia la pietra ed ha il suo animo macchiato!) Secondo me nessuno al mondo ha l'animo così pulito da poter solo sollevare una pietra a titolo accusatorio! uccidere per una così detta giustizia si fa solo un ingiustizia "poichè si disprezza un dono immenso" (la vita)ed è dono di Dio e nessuno può sentirsi in diritto di toglierla, altrimenti sarà come Caino e come Caino, "da Dio" sarà maledetto sette volte tanto! Dio ama, Dio, perdona, Dio è vita che da vita!.

[Jalen P.]

So she gets ten years for the murder and she got the death penalty for the adultery? does that not seem backwards or am i reading the article incorrectly?

[Jill]

At the very start, the Iranian account said she was found guilty of murder. I saw it with my own eyes. News agencies are covering butts for spinning the story. Verify what you read.

[Tito]

So, let me get this right... USA people criticizes Iran for a death penalty, due 'doubts' concerning the trial and some sugests that's a "reason" to throw some bombs on the civilian's heads (aka men, women, old, children), but readly "forgets" that one of the major USA allies is Saudi Arabia.

Interesting.

[Trevor Loughlin]

Why does the West and Israel commit undoubted atrocities against innocent Arab and Palestinian people? An examination of Western Culture shows both the strength and at the same time perhaps the weakness of our society. The pedomorphic (childlike and angelic) nature of Aryan beauty when compared to other races, particularly the andromorphic (masculinised and aggressive) features of the semitic races means that in Western societies this "cuteness" brings out strong nurturing and altruistic tendencies towards each other, making the idea of abusing women, children, and to a lesser extent even men something that fills the average citizen with anger and revulsion. This goes too far on some occasions-so called sex offender witch-hunts, people arrested for photographing children (in a bizarre mirror image of Islamic laws prohibition on images of living things) but on the whole, the far better treatment of women and children including severe penalties for inbreeding, results in a strong, high IQ race with fewer genetic defects. Contrast this with the low IQ Islamic states, where inbreeding, child abuse and woman beating/enslavement are a holy duty. In Islamic societies, sexually attractive high IQ women are soon selected out by murder, carried out by male sexual predators in turbans, and no doubt encouraged by the genetically degenerate Klingon-like crones that still pass for women-they hate the competition. Consequently, the West treats the entire Islamic world the way it treats its sexual predators at home-with murderous contempt. The dysgenic procedures in the Islamic world, selecting out all fit individuals, mean that the Arab world will never have the intellectual capacity to protect itself militarily. As for the Israelis, through out-breeding they are now a regional master race, treating the Arab population with the same contempt the Nazi's gave them. And as long as Saudi Arabia, Iran etc commit these atrocities against half their population, frankly as far as I'm concerned It might be better if Israel was expanded across the entire Middle East and other "Islamic" (sexual abuser) states in Asia such as Pakistan and Afghanistan. Of course there would be an insurgency, but Israel would use it's wise policy of relocating the entire population, insurgents included, outside it's new borders and build a new wall, comparable to the great wall of China. If we remind ourselves that there is NO SUCH THING AS AN ISLAMIC STATE, ONLY A SEXUAL ABUSER STATE, such an exercise in neo-imperial colonisation and ethnic cleansing becomes entirely justifiable in terms of child protection.

[truthywood]

Western criminals just bully weak and defenseless people while they go under their mom's skirt when some one strong shows up, thats what happened when Russia attacked Georgia, thats what happened when Korea developed nukes.

[truthywood]

Western criminal thugs kill millions of innocent people without any trials , and when some one releases information about their crimes they are condemned to death. they steal resources, land and install puppets in other countries while Iran can't punish a murderer in Iran. What a logic.

[oriana]

i think it is so rediculouse and stupid

[Kathleen]

So let me get this right. she got 10 years in prison for being charge with playing a role in the murder of her husband but sentenced to death for adultery?

What is wrong with you people over there??? Serious what century have you missed?

I'm sure there is more to this story and where her children are not blaming her for their fathers murder speaks louder than anything. This may be specualtion but probably true. He probably beat her all the time and she went nutts or the other men involved did it.

I'm sorry 90 lashes and stoning while planted in the ground up to your shoulders so people can throw stones at your head till you die is a just inhumane and anyone who allows this or participates in the stoning should be held for murder and sentenced to death themselves.

Where are the humanitarians of the world? This must be stopped. Woman have no rights in these countries and we do business with some of them and they treat women like animals.

We woman should eliminate all the male births of the world till we out do you and we take over hows that for a world?

What are these people thinking?

I'm serious maybe the world would be better run by women the men seem to screwing up big time.

This must stop!

Iran is a barbaric country ruled by animals. The people of Iran not all are like that and they are being treated like animals or less than. The women of Iran should stop all male births to raise the population of females in your country. I know that is horrible to say. Totally wrong but until you outnumber those morons you will be murdered and tortured and raped and whatever they wish to do with you. Im sick just thinking that another human being coudl do such a thing to another human.

I pray for her and in the same breath I curse the ones who want to stone her. They will burn in hell not her. They will be cursed for eternity!!!!!!!!!!!

[raymond clifford]

Define Infidel: one who after refusing to convert to Islam must by the will of Allah be KILLED! Yeah these guys have got their act together? Gimme a break,credibility issues anyone? Yes we believe everything you tell us otherwise you will kill me and my family in the name of your beliefs? Where is the logic?

[Impresaria]

Funny, according to the government of Iran last week, she had been acquitted of murder. Can they simply change their minds on a whim about what Sakineh allegedly did and expect us all to not notice??

[Skeptical]

So Malek Ejdar Sharifi, head of East Azerbaijan Province's judiciary, says that her buried but convieniently resurfaced murder rap is ".....too shocking", to be accounted for to the public. But the brutal stoning to death in public of a helpless women buried up to her waist is not! COME ON PREDATORS, DO YOUR JOB!!!!

[sam]

well what will the world leaders do about this? nothing, maybe some-body should send a boat full of terrorists to save her oh they cant its the terrorists doing it oh well poor girl has no hope.

[mimi 362]

Of course they are going to say she murdered her husband how else can they justify this brutality.

[Hassan Hamzeh]

stop touching hanging stoning to death people in Iran by fashism goverment-
molas rejim.

[Norman]

Did anybody see the movie Stoning of soraya?These people can kill somebody, then party in the evening and go to sleep as if nothing had happened.
Do you understand what we are dealing here.

[David Drake]

Ben Knight is it? Why is it that whenever someone talks about Iran, Iraq, or any other Muslim or Islamic human abuse, people like you change the subject to Israel? Do you just copy / paste your comment into all b-logs? Why don't you grow some, post your real name and look into the mirror once in a while? The story here is about a "Muslim" woman getting stoned to death by Muslim law, if you have nothing to say about that or don't feel remorse...

[sarahjane]

@ Amber, no we should not go into countries and change things...but as citizens of the world and other women we should speak out against femicide and speak up for the many women who no longer support these medieval laws. Please watch "For Neda" the documentary to see a number of Iranian women voice their own opinions. Iranian women note that the first Islamic laws put into action after the Revolution in the 1970's were laws that punished women and the most ugly and out of date Islamic Laws. The courts do not give a woman's testimony the same weight as a man's and often the government brings false charges against people...and kills people for dissenting political opinions,as was the case with young Neda, whose only crime was being an independent woman wanting to voice her opinion in a peaceful protest. No our country is not perfect, but we are in no way on the same page as Iran. I fear for this woman and her family and I seriously doubt that she killed her husband. I pray for her family and for all the wonderful people of Iran who suffer constant oppression. My only hope is the young people of the country who will shape a new Iran.