Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani (Persian: سکینه محمدی آشتیانی; born 1967) is an Iranian woman convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and adultery.
[5] Ashtiani is an Iranian Azeri born in Tabriz[2] in the Persian calendar 1347 (1967–1968) and grew up in the rural town of Osku, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran.
[10][11] An international campaign to overturn her sentence was started by her children, Farideh and Sajjad Qaderzadeh, through a letter about their mother's case which was published by Mission Free Iran.
[12] Prominent media sources picked up on the news via interviews with her son, which included information on her stoning sentence.
[14] Shortly after the international campaign began, various Iranian officials stated that Ashtiani was also guilty of various charges related to the murder of her husband.
On 24 July 2012, Amnesty International stressed that Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani's fate was still unclear, while her former lawyer Javid Houtan Kiyan languished in jail.
On May 15, 2006 Sakineh entered a guilty plea of having had an "illicit relationship outside marriage" with another man (court records show it was not Taheri, but another person).
Sajjad Qaderzadeh, Ashtiani's son, forgave Taheri, accepted blood money, and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
[32] Malek Ejdar Sharifi, head of East Azerbaijan Province's judiciary said, "She was sentenced to capital punishment... for committing murder, manslaughter and adultery.
The Press Section of the Iranian Embassy in London issued the following statement on July 8, 2010:"Considering the statements made by the Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt on an Iranian national, Mrs Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, and her execution, hereby this mission denies the false news aired in this respect and notifies the Ministry that according to information from the relevant judicial authorities in Iran, she will not be executed by stoning punishment.
[39] On the same day, Tehran's High Court rejected a reopening of the trial and instead considered the Tabriz prosecutor's demand to execute Ashtiani.
"[40] Her son's statement was contradicted by numerous Iranian news accounts describing her as being convicted of both complicity in murder and adultery, although those reports may not be accurate.
She wrote her last will and testament just before the call to morning prayer at 4:00 AM local time, when she expected to be led to the gallows at Tabriz Prison.
[40] On September 8, 2010, Ramin Mehmanparast, a spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, confirmed that the government had suspended the stoning sentence, pending a review of her husband's murder case.
[44] Iran Human Rights also expressed concerns over Mehmanparast's statement about "Sakineh's murder charge being investigated for the final verdict".
[59] U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton mentioned Mrs. Ashtiani in a declaration on August 10, 2010, urging Iran to respect the fundamental freedoms of its citizens.
[60] In late August 2010, the Iranian newspaper Kayhan called Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the First Lady of France, a "prostitute" who "deserved death" after she condemned the stoning sentence against Mrs.
[65] On September 29, 2010, EveryOne Group, a human rights organisation based in Italy, appealed to the Iranian Authorities for an act of compassion for Mrs.
[67] In March 2014, Mohammad-Javad Larijani, the Islamic regime's Secretary General for Human Rights, announced that Sakineh Ashtiani had been pardoned, due to good behaviour.