Iran still stoning people to death

by pat c Fri Jan 18, 2008 11:31

Heres an article which shows that the stoning of Jafar was an Official State Execution. The interview is with Alireza Jamshidi, the head of Ghazvin’s State judiciary. Its worth noting that ordinary people refused to throw any stones and so, judge Asshabi himself and a few accompanying cops carried out the sentence. This was not a lynch mob. The Judge acted as judge, jury and executioner.

While the Head of the national judiciary may issue stays of execution, he is either unable or unwilling to intervene at local level to prevent stonings going ahead. Full article at link.

Yesterday, in his weekly meeting with media representatives, the spokesperson for the judicial system confirmed that Jafar, the defendant in an adultery case, was stoned to death in Takestan, Ghazvin.

Q: You mean even with the international pressure, no decision has been made to prevent the stoning sentences from being executed in the future?

A: We are not bound by the pressures of the international human rights [groups]. We are only bound by our Sharia and law.

Q: Ayatollah Shahroudi had asked for the sentences of both defendants to be suspended. How come the sentence for the male defendant was executed and the one for the female defendant suspended?

A: Gender didn’t matter much. It just so happened that the way the sentence was executed, the male defendant’s sentence was executed first.

Q: Iran is now the target of great international propaganda. Don’t you think carrying out such sentences fuels this propaganda campaign? Wasn’t there a way to stop the stoning sentence and replace it with a substitute punishment?

A: It is only natural for foreign media to campaign on execution of sentences in Iran. But we have a duty to practice our laws. Where this practice is not in the regime’s best interest, we should take on reforming these laws. We can also use an executive order and sometimes stop the execution of such sentences. But perhaps it is not in our best interest to change the laws merely because of international pressure.

by Joe Fri Jan 18, 2008 01:06

The drumbeat of propaganda against Iran is never ending. The case of Mr. Kiani, the only stoning in Iran last year, is a case in point.

The stoning of Jafar Kiani, was halted on the direct orders of the head of the judiciary, Hashemi Shahroudi who has vowed no more stoning will take place. Mr Shahroudi was following the direction of the government and religious leaders who protested the stoning was neither legal or in accordance with Sharia law. As such, it was an extra-judicial and un-Islamic killing, no less a crime than the killing of Paul Quinn in a shed in Monaghan last year. To lay it at the door of the Iranian Government and to use it as another beat in the propaganda march, is ridiculous.

The link you give is the same as the one in the initial post and the 'cut and paste' paragraph you give us is from the same page. This combined with your use of bold lettering is really an attempt to ram your lob-sided disinformation down our necks. Thanks, but no thanks. I don’t like being played and neither does anybody else, that’s why these stories are so repugnant to free thinkers here on Indymedia. Many of the stories published here attacking Iran have been slanted, spun, dubious, un-sourced or so vague as to be meaningless.

by pat c Thu Jan 17, 2008 12:37

Its worth visiting the site of an Iranian Womens group which is based in Iran and is fighting fore Womens rights including campaigning against stoning., Change For Equality.

They are not demonising Iran, they are not muslim baiting, they are not softening anything up. They are mere looking for human rights. You will even see that they have the support of some of the reformist clergy.

by tomeile Thu Jan 17, 2008 12:22

Agreed on that Lulu. But there should also be a moratorium on the demonising of Iran and on the Muslim-baiting which is currently being orchestrated to soften up public opinion for a U.S. attack on that country.

by lulu Thu Jan 17, 2008 10:50

Anyone threatened with the death penalty in any country is deserving of our support. No need to argue about the propaganda that's been sown around different countries; there is a need for a moratorium on death penalties worldwide.

by pat c Wed Jan 16, 2008 18:04

This is what Amnesty say about stonings in iran:

Despite official claims that stonings have been halted - including a moratorium issued by the Head of the Judiciary in 2002 - several have taken place, with the latest only last year. Ja'far Kiani, a man, was stoned to death for adultery on 5 July 2007 in the village of Aghche-kand, near Takestan in Qazvin province. There are fears that Mokarrameh Ebrahimi, with whom he had two children, may suffer the same fate. She is in Choubin prison, Qazvin province, apparently with one of their children. A woman and a man are also known to have been stoned to death in Mashhad in May 2006.

Fullarticle at link.