Ahwazi : Activists Call for End to Practice of Stoning in Iran
Reports suggest that two people were stoned to death in May and at least eight women currently face stoning sentences.
Under Islamic laws as applied in
Then, as lawyer Elham Fahimi explains, they are struck with rocks until they die.
Death by stoning is slow and painful. Islamic code prescribes that "the stone should not be so big as to kill the offender with one or two stones" and "nor should it be as small as pebbles."
Still Happening
The latest case of a judicially ordered stoning was reportedly carried in early May in a cemetery in the holy city of
A woman, identified as Mahboubeh M., and a man, identified as Abbas H., had been convicted of committing adultery and murdering the woman's husband. Activists say that before the two were stoned to death, they were treated like "lifeless corpses." They were given final ablutions and then buried in a hole in the ground. Reports claim that more than 100 members of
The case alarmed and outraged women's rights activists. Their investigations suggested that judges in several cities have continued to condemn people to death by stoning, despite the reported moratorium.
Women's rights activist Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh tells RFE/RL that one of the reasons new stonings are being ordered is because the moratorium was not enshrined in law.
"Since under our laws, judges are independent, one reason [for continued stonings] might be that with the new government [of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad] coming to power and the change in the political atmosphere, judges who are in favor of such sentences have become more active," Abbasgholizadeh says. "Therefore, we think stoning should be banned by law -- otherwise judges can issue such sentences as they desire."
Silent Killings
Abbasgholizadeh says it is unclear how many stoning sentences have been issued and carried out in
The head of
Parliamentarian Elham Aminzadeh was quoted by Iranian media as saying after a trip to
Abbasgholizadeh dismisses Aminzadeh's claim and says rights activists have carefully documented stoning cases.
"We don't speak without proof," Abbasgholizadeh says. "This lady speaks in a way that shows she's denying stoning and saying that the judiciary has replaced it with other sentences. This means she's saying stoning should not exist. Our point is that as long as [a ban] doesn't become law, judges can [issue stoning sentences] and are doing it. So this lady, who is a legislator and opposes it, should make the ban a legal one."
Pressure Continues
On October 10, Amnesty International Secretary-General Irene Khan called on
Activists have published the names of nine women and two men whom they claim have been sentenced to death by stoning.
One of them is Shamameh Malek Ghorbani, who was reportedly sentenced to stoning in June after relatives found a man in her home. Amnesty International reported that her brothers and husband murdered the man and also stabbed Ghorbani with a knife.
Ghorbani's lawyer, Fahimi, tells RFE/RL that the case is being reexamined by a higher court.
"She is in Orumyeh prison," Fahimi says. "Her crime is adultery, and she has been sentenced to stoning. I visited her while my colleague went to
Reports suggest that the stoning sentence against another woman identified by Amnesty International, Ashraf Kalhori, has also been suspended.
Women's rights defenders say adultery cannot be considered as deserving of such harsh punishment. They are quick to add that "no crime deserves to be punished by stoning."
With officials largely silent on the issue except to deny that it occurs, it is unclear how many more Iranians might be stoned to death before authorities throughout the country are forced to agree.