OT/MISC Eight women face stoning death in Iran

At least eight women and one man are reported to have been sentenced to death by stoning in Iran.

The group, convicted of adultery and sex offences, could be executed at any time, lawyers defending them say.

The lawyers have called on the head of Iran's judiciary to prevent the sentences from being carried out.

The last officially reported stoning in Iran last year drew strong criticism from human rights groups and the European Union.

The eight women sentenced, whose ages range from 27 to 43, had convictions including prostitution, incest and adultery, Reuters news agency reported.

The man, a 50-year-old music teacher, was convicted of illegal sex with a student, reports said.

Moratorium imposed

Under Iran's Islamic law, stoning to death is the punishment for the crime of adultery.

In 2002 Iranian judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi imposed a moratorium on stoning, but at least three people are reported to have been executed by stoning since then.

Shadi Sadr from the Volunteer Lawyers' Network, which is representing the women, said: "We are very worried as there are at least eight women and one man with a definitive verdict which can be carried out any moment.

"There are no guarantees that the punishments will be halted or commuted."

She called on the international community to back their efforts, adding: "We are in close touch with human rights organisations and many of them have supported our campaign."

Fellow defence lawyer Mariam Kian-Arsi said: "Our specific and clear demand is to have the stoning sentence stopped by Ayatollah Shahroudi since the defendants are liable to be stoned at any moment."

Women 'poorly represented'

In theory the penalty of stoning to death applies to both men and women.

But the lawyers say that in practice, many more women than men receive the sentence because they are less well educated and often poorly represented in court.

Human rights group Amnesty International earlier this year called on Iran to abolish "this grotesque punishment" and said many facing execution by stoning were sentenced after unfair trials.

Under Iran's strict penal code, men convicted of adultery should be buried up to their waists and women up to their chests for stoning. The stones used should not be large enough to kill the person immediately.

Lets go save 'em.

Why is it only sexual crime that calls for stoning?
....what about a law that says being the first one to throw a rock that kills someone else will be enough of a crime to result in being stoned....oh my god we are such a nasty breathing species sometimes I just can't stand it....

Iran has some very contradictory rules regarding prostitution..........of course it there ....its just done differently.........you pick your girl....marry her.......doesnt take long then have nooky......give her some cash because she is your wife and then a quick divorce.....all in oh.......an hour

Not really understanding exactly what a "stoning" was I researched it a bit. The carnival atmosphere and actual rules make it kind of a sporting event...


What happens in Stoning?

In stoning to death, the victims's hands are tied behind their backs and their bodies are put in a cloth sack.

Then, this human "package" is buried in a hole, with only the victims heads showing above the ground. If its a woman, she is buried upto her shoulders. This is to give her an seemingly equal (but nonetheless impossible) chance to escape recognizing her lesser physical strength.

After the hapless individual has been secured in the hole, people start chanting "Allah hu Akbar" (meaning, God is great), and throw palm sized stones at the head of the victim from a certain distance (a circle is drawn).

The stones are thrown until the person dies or until he/she escapes out of the hole and crosses the circle. Escaping is impossible, given that the individual's hands are tied behind their backs and they are buried in a hole upto their necks or shoulders (in the case of males and females respectively).

Naturally, the procedure is extremely barbaric and bloody.

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Here is a video of an actual stoning. They were only buried up to their waste but still they don't have a chance.

http://www.apostatesofislam.com/media/video/stoning-original.wmv

Ah, yes. The religion of peace again........

Too bad they can't do that to the child sex offenders and rapists in this country. Since statistics show they can't be reformed what better way to eliminate them and give the victims or families of the victims a chance to vent at the same time.

Just another reason we should turn the middle east into a nice glass ashtray.