Iran court upholds death by stoning verdict for two Azeris

Washington, 15 January (WashingtonTV)—A court in Iran’s West Azarbaijan Province has upheld the sentence of death by stoning for two Azeri Iranians, the Human Rights Activists News Agency reported on Friday.

The two defendants, identified as Sarimeh Ebadi, 30, and Booali Janfeshani, 32, were convicted of adultery, the report said.

Both are said to be currently behind bars in the northwestern city of Orumieyh.

According to the report, an appeals court upheld the sentence on 6 January.

Under Iran’s Islamic law, adultery is punishable by stoning, despite a 2002 directive by then-Judiciary chief, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi, imposing a moratorium on the punishment.

But since then, at least five people in Iran have been stoned to death, as the directive has no legal weight and judges are free to ignore it, according to Amnesty International.

Under Iranian law, men sentenced to death by stoning are buried up to their waists and women up to their chests. The public then throws stones – not big enough to kill the person immediately – at the convicted.

The United Nations and international rights groups have called on Tehran to abolish the sentence, saying it violates Iran’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which forbids cruel and inhumane punishment.