Shabnam Assadollahi shares:
Activists Call To Halt Stoning of A Man and a Woman In Iran
According to HRANA news agency, a man and a woman, Mr. Ali Sai Bashsiz and Ms. Zahra Pour Sai have been convicted of adultery by the head of the second branch of the criminal court of the province of East Azerbaijan and have been sentenced to stoning.
The lawyer of the accused had asked for an appeal shortly after the verdict, which was rejected by Morteza Fazel, the head of Branch 7 of the Supreme Court, along with the branch’s Counselor Mr. Azizollah Razzaghi.
The accused received the definitive verdict on December 16, 2012 in Tabriz central prison and are in danger of imminent execution by stoning.
Despite official claims that stoning has been halted in Iran which includes a moratorium by Ayatollah Shahroudi the head of the Judiciary in 2002, this practice continues in Iran. According to human rights organizations, a 30 year old man was stoned in the city of Rasht as recently as May 2009; three men in the city of Mashhad in December 2008; Mr. Jafar Kiani in the village of Agche-kand in July 2007, and a couple were secretly stoned by 100 members of the Revolutionary Guards in a Cemetery in Mashhad in May 2006.
In recent years, human rights defenders have saved a number of individuals from stoning through successful campaigns both inside and outside Iran by bringing this agonizing form of capital punishment to the attention of the international community. World criticism reached a strident pitch in 2011 when reports stated that a married woman, Ms. Sakineh Ashtiani was about to be stoned on charges of having “illicit relationships” with two men. As the result of one of the most successful international campaigns Iran halted her stoning. Ms. Mokarameh Ebrahimi, Zohre and Azar Kabiri-niat have also have had their sentences suspended for now.
We, the undersigned, are very concerned about the fate of Ms. Zahra Pour Sai and Mr. Ali Sai Bashsiz who are in danger of being secretly stoned at any time. It is estimated that 12 people are awaiting stoning in Iran at the present time. We ask all the international human rights organizations and their governments to pressure the Islamic republic of Iran to put an end to this antiquated and heinous practice of stoning.
Shadi Paveh, Ottawa
Nazanin Afshin-Jam MacKay, Ottawa
Shabnam Assadollahi, Ottawa
Mina Ahadi, Germany
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