Iran stoning woman offered asylum by Brazil's president Lula

[Turborama]

Source: The Guardian

Offer raises hopes Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, will be spared -

Saeed Kamali Dehghan, Tom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro, and Rory Carroll -

Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has stepped into the international outcry over Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, by offering his country as a refuge, a move which raised hopes her life will be spared.

The surprise offer prompted an immediate reaction from Iran, which considers Brazil a key ally. Iranian officials softened their tone with Ashtiani's family over the weekend and official media reported full details of the story for the first time.

"I don't think Iran can ignore Brazil as easily as it ignored other countries," Ashtiani's son, Sajad, told the Guardian today. "It is very important that Brazil, as one of Iran's most significant allies in the world, has offered a haven for my mother."

He hoped Turkey, which also carries influence with Tehran, would add its voice. "No countries in the world can have such impacts that Brazil and Turkey can have on Iran now. These two countries can save my mother's life," said Sajad.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/01/iran-stoning-woman-brazil

---

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Good for Brazil's president!

A most hopeful gesture.

[Tx4obama]

2. Let's not forget that she was also involved in the murder of her husband & found guilty for that too

n/t

[Turborama]

4. No she wasn't

That fallacy was totally debunked here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=8766387

ETA It also says this later in the Guardian's article...

Jahan News, a website close to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, struck a critical tone. "The Brazilian president is under the influence of western propaganda … and has interfered in Iran's internal affairs." It said Ashtiani was convicted of adultery and murder, even though a court rejected the latter charge.

[Tx4obama]

7. Thank you for the link.

But I found it odd that her son has said that he has forgiven his mother for her involvement in his father's murder, so she apparently had a hand it in even if she wasn't legally convicted.

[Turborama]

8. Yo're welcome. Have you got a link from a reliable source quoting her son saying that? n/t

[Tx4obama]

10. well...

I read it a week or so ago in several different places, don't remember where though.
I just did a quick search and this came up:

Quote:
Explaining the details of her case, her lawyer Mohammad Mostafai told AFP on Saturday that his client knew the man who "killed her husband and because she was at home when the murder took place, she was accused as an accomplice."

"But after her kids pardoned her in the case of murder, she now stands accused of adultery with that man."

Under Iranian law if a murder victim's family, in this case the children of Mohammadi-Ashtiani and her slain husband, forgive the accused, the convict can be either pardoned or given a jail term.
End Quote
From: http://www.emirates247.com/news/region/iran-halts-woman-s-stoning-for-now-2010-07-12-1.265439

I don't know if that site is considered reliable or not, but I posted it here for you so you could use the info to a further search for a source of your liking.

I think one place I read that the son forgave her was in a letter that he sent to the government asking for her release (that might have been on CNN, I don't remember).

p.s. I'd can't look anymore tonight cause I'm on the way to bed to watch the new Mad Men episode ;)

[Turborama]

11. Here are actual quotes from her son and daughter to the Guardian...

Speaking to the Guardian, her son Sajad, 22, and daughter Farideh, 17, say their mother has been unjustly accused and already punished for something she did not do. "She's innocent, she's been there for five years for doing nothing", Sajad said. He described the imminent execution as barbaric. "Imagining her, bound inside a deep hole in the ground, stoned to death, has been a nightmare for me and my sister for all these years."

Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/02/iranian-woman-stoning-death-penalty/print

From the article you cite:

"Under Iranian law if a murder victim's family, in this case the children of Mohammadi-Ashtiani and her slain husband, forgive the accused, the convict can be either pardoned or given a jail term."

There's nothing odd about them "forgiving" her and it doesn't necessarily mean she "apparently had a hand in it". If they did "forgive" her it would have clearly been in an attempt to get a pardon. I still haven't read any quotes from them discussing the apparent "forgiveness" they gave her but after reading what they have said, I strongly suspect those were the motives for doing it and that they didn't actually believe that she did commit murder.

[HEyHEY]

12. watching you two go back and forth is confusing cause of your user names. N/T

[roxiejules]

14. Another link showing she was acquitted of the murder charge

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/27/iran-stoning-case-woman-cellmate

She was originally sentenced to 99 lashes for adultery, 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 the death penalty handed down on the basis of "judge's knowledge". In Iran, officials consider adultery worse than murder, Gholami said.

[roguevalley]

15. and you believe that? From them?

[JI7]

3. Hugo CHavez needs to say something

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

5. Let's poll the chiefs of state of the 200-odd sovereign nations.

Who has said something and who hasn't?

[JI7]

9. the article mentions that when a friendly nation says something it could have some influence

that's why i mentioned Chavez

[EFerrari]

13. Actually, that might be a very good idea.

And good for President Lula. It's will be so sad to see him go.

[pleah]

6. K&R

[The Wizard]

16. The U.S would intervene

but the Administration is worried about what Glenn Beck would say.

[WinstonSmith4740]

17. I don't know about that...

Hopefully, after this last go around, Rahm Emanuel has loosened the choke chain a little, and the Administration is beginning to recognize set-ups when they see them. My gut re-action here is that we stayed out of it because if we had spoken up in her behalf, those nut-cases would have dragged her out of her cell and killed her immediately.