Help Put an End to Stoning in Iran
Help Put an End to Stoning in Iran
Please urge the Iranian government to commute all the sentences of death by stoning and ask them to abolish the practice of stoning. We have provided a sample letter, but be encouraged to add your own thoughts.
Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei, The Office of the Supreme Leader
Shoahada Street , Qom , Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@leader.ir
Salutation: Your Excellency
Head of the Judiciary
His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: Please send emails via the feedback form on the Persian site of the website: http://www.iranjudiciary.org/contactus-feedback-fa.html
Salutation: Your Excellency
President
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 21 6 649 5880
Email: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
(Or via website) http://www.president.ir/email
(Sample letter below)
Background Information:
On the occasion of the fourth World Day Against the Death Penalty, Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International, said:
"I associate myself wholeheartedly with those in Iran who are campaigning so courageously, and at no small risk to themselves, to end the practice of execution by stoning.
It is appalling that some in authority in Iran have attempted to revive this obscene practice, despite the reported moratorium on such killings imposed by the Head of the Judiciary in 2002. Today, up to nine women and two men are under sentence of execution by stoning.
Execution by stoning is a grotesque and horrific practice. It aggravates the innate brutality of the death penalty, being specifically designed to increase the victim's suffering, and is the ultimate form of torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.
Stoning must be abolished. I call on the Iranian government to ensure that it is - immediately and totally."
According to reports at the time, in December 2002 Ayatollah Shahroudi, the Head of the Judiciary, sent a ruling to judges ordering a moratorium on execution by stoning, pending a decision on a permanent change in the law which was apparently being considered by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
However, in May 2006 it was reported that Abbas (m) and Mahboubeh (f) were executed by stoning in a cemetery in Mahshhad, having been convicted of murdering Mahboubeh's husband, and of adultery - a charge which carries the penalty of execution by stoning. Part of the cemetery was cordoned off from the public and more than 100 members of the Revolutionary Guards and Bassij Forces, who had previously been invited to attend, reportedly participated in the stoning. Amnesty International wrote to the Head of the Judiciary seeking clarification of these reports, but to date has not received a reply.
A group of human rights defenders in Iran and around the world, including activists, journalists and lawyers, have begun a campaign to abolish stoning. The campaign is being led by Shadi Sadr, a lawyer and women's rights defender. Amnesty International is working with women's activists in Iran and taking action on behalf of nine women under threat of execution by stoning.
We previously took action on behalf of Ashraf Kalhori and Hajieh Esmailvand. This month, an Urgent Action was issued on behalf of the seven other women: Parisa was sentenced to execution by stoning for adultery, after being forced into prostitution by her husband due to family poverty. Iran was sentenced to stoning for adultery, which she denies, and five years imprisonment for being an accomplice to the murder of her husband. Khayrieh was sentenced to stoning for having an affair with a relative of her abusive husband. Shamameh Ghorbany (known as Malak), was sentenced to stoning for adultery. Kobra Najjar completed an eight year prison sentence for being an accomplice to the murder of her husband two years ago, and is now awaiting her stoning sentence for adultery to be implemented. She was allegedly forced into prostitution by her husband, who was violent towards her. Soghra Mola'i was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for being an accomplice in the murder of her husband, and execution by stoning for adultery. Fatemeh faces execution by stoning for having an 'illicit relationship'. The team is seeking information on the two men who have received a sentence of stoning.
The climate in Iran for human rights defenders is dire. Iranian legislation severely restricts freedom of expression and association and human rights defenders often face reprisals for their work in the form of harassment, intimidation, attacks, detention, imprisonment and torture. Many are subject to travel bans that prevent them from leaving the country. Amnesty International is aware that those campaigning against the death penalty, including to abolish stoning, have been subjected to pressure and harassme nt. On 24 September 2006 at least 10 people were detained while demonstrating peacefully outside the United Nations office in Tehran. They were protesting against the expected imminent execution of several women, including Kobra Rahmanpour, Fatemeh Haghighat-pajouh, Nazanin Fathehi (a child offender) and Shahla Jahed. They were released later in the day after signing undertakings about their future actions. Amnesty International has received information that the group of human rights defenders campaigning to abolish stoning have been subjected to threats and harassment.
Iranian lawyer, journalist and human rights defender Shadi Sadr has been the leader in initiating a campaign against execution by stoning. She has been especially active in the case of Ashraf Kalhori, a mother of four who is at risk of execution by stoning for adultery. She submitted a petition to Head of the Judiciary, Ayatollah Shahroudi calling upon him to halt the execution. The petition was signed by more than four thousand people, including more than one hundred Iranian women's rights activists. A temporary stay of execution was granted but she still is under sentence of death. Shadi Sadr had been nominated by AI as a participant to the Global International Consultation on Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs), which took place in Sri Lanka in 2005, but was unable to attend due to the travel ban imposed against her. She was awarded the Ida B. Wells Award for Bravery in Journalism at the Women's eNews 21 Leaders for the 21st Century Gala in May 2004. You can find an informative interview of Shadi Sadr that took place in July 2006 on the web site http://www.news.faithfreedom.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=292
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Sample Letter:
Dear:
I am writing to you to express my deep concern about the use of execution by stoning in Iran. Stoning is a particularly brutal form of execution, specifically designed to increase and prolong the suffering endured by the individual being executed. I am particularly worried because of reports that two people were executed by stoning in May 2006, and that nine women and two men in Iran are currently under sentence of execution by stoning.
The nine women who are under sentence of execution by stoning, all of whom incurred the sentence of stoning for adultery, include: Ashraf Kalhori, a mother of four whose execution was postponed in late July 2006 by the Head of the Judiciary, Ayatollah Shahroudi. She had been convicted of the crime of adultery and for alleged involvement in the death of her husband in April 2002. She remains under sentence of death; Parisa, who was convicted of adultery and who claimed she had been forced into prostitution by her husband due to the family's poverty; Iran, who was convicted of adultery and of being accomplice to the murder of her husband after her alleged lover killed him; Khayrieh, who was also convicted of adultery and of being accomplice to the murder of her husband after her alleged lover killed him; Kobra Najjar, a victim of domestic violence who was forced into prostitution by her husband who was murdered by one of her clients; Shamameh "Malak" Ghorbany, who was convicted of adultery after a man found in her house was killed by her husband and other relatives; Soghra Mola'i, convicted of adultery and being an accomplice to the murder of her husband; Fatehmeh, who was convicted of committing adultery with a man who was killed allegedly by her with involvement of her husband; and Hajieh Esmailvand, who was accused of adultery with a seventeen-year-old who was also sentenced to death, but not by stoning.
I am opposed to the death penalty in all cases. The U.N. Human Rights Committee has made clear that treating adultery and fornication as criminal offenses does not comply with international human rights standards. The sentence of execution by stoning for adultery breaches Iran's commitment under article 6(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that says that death sentences should only be imposed for the 'most serious crimes.' In December 2002 Ayatollah Shahroudi, the Head of the Iranian Judiciary, sent a ruling to judges ordering a moratorium on execution by stoning. I therefore urge you to commute the sentences of death by stoning for the women named above. I also strongly urge you to abolish the use of execution by stoning in Iran. I urge that a law that would ban stoning be introduced to the Iranian parliament. Thank you very much for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
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