Iran halts woman's death by stoning

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani could still face death penalty, despite reprieve that follows international campaign led by her children

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani. Photograph: AP

A 43-year-old Iranian woman will not be stoned to death after an international campaign launched by her children.

It is unclear whether the authorities have lifted the death sentence for alleged adultery against Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani or if she faces execution by another means.

Mohammadi Ashtiani endured a sentence of 99 lashes after being convicted in May 2006 of conducting an "illicit relationship outside marriage". But her case was reopened when a court in Tabriz suspected her of murdering her husband.

She was acquitted, but the adultery charge was reviewed and a death penalty handed down on the basis of "judge's knowledge" – a loophole that allows for subjective judicial rulings where no conclusive evidence is present.

Her case has highlighted the growing use of the death penalty in a country that has executed more than 100 people this year.

Her son Sajad, 22, and daughter Farideh, 17, told the Guardian their mother had been unjustly accused and punished for something she did not do, prompting international appeals for the death sentence to be lifted.

Under Iranian sharia law, the sentenced individual is buried up to the neck (or to the waist in the case of men), and those attending the public execution are called upon to throw stones. If the convicted person manages to free themselves from the hole, the death sentence is commuted.

Iran, embarrassed by the international attention over stonings, has rarely practised it in public in recent years. The country executed 388 people last year – more than any other country apart from China, according to Amnesty International. Most are hanged.

Mina Ahadi, a human rights activist in Germany who helped Mohammadi Ashtiani's children launch their campaign internationally, says she is aware of 12 other women in Iran who face death by stoning.

This is one hell of a brave woman , I salute you !

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