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Women’s Forum Against Fundamentalism in
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Public Statement
May 23, 2005
Stop inhumane act of stoning in Iran
Boston, MA – A 25 year old woman
was sentenced to death by stoning on May
17, 2005 in Tehran. The woman who has been
identified by her first name, Fatemeh, allegedly
strangled a 22 year old neighbor whom she had an affair with. She has been
charged with one count of murder which carries the death penalty. The second
charge, stoning to death sentence, was issued for the alleged affair. Fatemeh’s husband has been sentenced to 16 years in prison
for assisting in the murder.
This is not the first time
the fundamentalist regime of the Mullahs in Iran issues and/or carries
out the savage sentence of stoning. The punishment for adultery under the
article 83 of the penal code called the law of Hodoud
is flogging for unmarried male and female offenders. Married offenders
regardless of gender may be punished by stoning. The sentence is carried out by
covering the person in a white shroud. Men are buried up to their waist, women are
buried up to their neck in the ground. The law states that if the person who is
to be stoned escapes, he or she is free to go. Therefore it is easier for men
to escape the punishment than for women to do so. The victim is then hit by the
stones that are picked to be just the right size. According to the Penal code of the Iranian
regime, the stones should not be too large that the person dies after being hit
by two of them, nor so small as to be defined as pebbles, but must cause severe
injury.
Fatemeh now joins a list of 11 other women awaiting
stoning and/or execution in Iran:
- Kobra Rahmanpour
- Najmeh Vosouq-Razavi - law student from Mashhad
- Mandana Nikkhou
- Shahla Jahed
- Faeze A. – full last name is unknown
- Leyla Mafi, age 19 - the mentally ill
teenager who was forced to prostitution by her mother from age 8
- Sara -
last name unknown
- Zahra
- last name unknown
- Raheleh - last name unknown
- Tayyebeh - last name unknown
- Shahnaz, - last name unknown; age 35
This brutal punishment
signifies one of the most serious violations of human rights by the theocratic
regime ruling Iran. Women’s Forum Against Fundamentalism in Iran appeals to the
International community to prevent this act of cruelty from taking place. The
Iranian regime must be held responsible and condemned for the gross violations
of Human Rights of the Iranian people. The United States and European Union
should pay attention to the crimes committed against humanity by the
fundamentalist regime ruling Iran. Iranian people will not forget and forgive
those who shut their eyes and ignored their suffering under the rule of the
Mullahs only to advance their economic agendas.
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WFAFI
P.O.Box 15205,
Boston, MA 02215
Tel: (617) 590-1665
Fax: (610) 862-9110