The Islamic Republic of Iran’s News agency criticised the 24 July International Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani Day protests. You can see a clip of the report below. It doesn’t even mention Sakineh’s name other than to call her S.M. and blurs her photo. It also says she brutally killed her husband which is why they say she is being sentenced to death.
Their misinformation about the campaign and Sakine’s case was refuted at the 30 July press conference. First off, stoning is a sentence for adultery not murder; secondly we presented the judgement on her case there. It clearly states death by stoning for adultery!
Here is the translation of the court document showing she has been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery:
The Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran
JUDGMENT
Judgement ref no. 38 – 85/6/19
[Persian date included in the ref no. 10 September 2006]
Case reference number: 94 – 84/6 Province Criminal [Court]
Reference number of the Head Penal Office: 237 – 84/11/18
Authority dealing with the case: Branch 6 of the Penal Court of East Azarbaijan Province
Plaintiff: Honourable Prosecutor of the General and Revolutionary Court of Tabriz
Accused: Mrs Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, daughter of Asqar, of Tabriz address (Tabriz Prison), represented by…
Type of charge: Adultery [Zena-ye Mohseneh]
Due to disagreement among the members of the court, the verdict of the majority is given as follows; that of the minority, following consultation, is given in a separate sheet:
(The verdict of the majority)
In this case, Mrs Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, born 1968, resident of Oskoo, daughter of Asqar, is accused of committing adultery with stranger men. Given the contents of the case and the form of the complaint of the children of the accused and of her murdered husband Mr Ebrahim Ghaderzadeh, the form of the report by the security forces, and the clear confessions of the above-named … such that it seems that the main motive of the above-named in murdering her husband with the help of one of the stranger men … has been to have illicit relations with [such] men and her severely corrupt mind, as well as other indications and evidences all of which indicate the committing of the crime of adultery, have led the majority of the court to arrive at knowledge [tahsil e elm], and [thus] with reference to Clauses 63, 83 and 105 of the Islamic Penal Law, the majority of the court sentences Mrs Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, daughter of Asqar, to stoning [rajm] on the charge of adultery (with stranger men repeatedly). This verdict can be appealed to the Supreme Court within 20 days from the date of this verdict.
Judge and Advisers Eemani, Seyf Ahmadi, Musavi
(The verdict of the minority)
Apart from the fact that Mrs Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani … who per judgment no. 114 of 17 May 2006 has been sentenced to 99 lashes on the charge of having an illicit relationship with [names of men] … which according to her has been administered and this case has been heard in the Court of the Province for the charge of adultery … with [names of men] … as long as that sentence is not revoked, the accused cannot be prosecuted, since a person is prosecuted only once for the same offence. Thus prosecution in this case has no legal justification as no positive religious or legal evidence can be found … (confession or witness testimony) and the indications in the case are not customary ways of [the judge] arriving at knowledge [tahsil e elm]. So the above-named is believed to be innocent of the charge.
Minority members of Branch 6 of the Penal Court of the Province
Kazemi and Hamdollahi
Translated by International Committee Against Stoning and International Committee Against Execution: http://notonemoreexecution.org/, http://stopstonningnow.com.
Here is Maryam Ghorbanzadeh’s sentence of death by stoning:
The Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran
JUDGMENT
Branch 12 of the Penal Court of East Azarbaijan Province
Ref no. of Judgment: 8809974127200029
Case ref no. 8709984127200045
Archive no. 870045
Date: 5 July 2010
Plaintiff: Report of …
Accused: Mrs Maryam Ghorbanzadeh represented by … of Tabriz address …
Charge: Adultery
(Majority Verdict)
With regard to the charge of Mrs Maryam Ghorbanzadeh, daughter of Golmohammad, that she committed adultery, the majority of the court, having considered all the papers of the case including investigations by court officers into the murder of the partner of the accused and the words of the accused regarding planning for murder and having sexual relations with the murderer and adulterer Mr Behzad Rasoolzadegh, and having watched the film of the sex scene between the accused [female] and the accused [male] and the fact that the defence of the accused [female] claiming that her partner had not slept with her for two years and had no sexual desires for her and would only say that he did not feel like it, and since until that date the accused [female] had not said anything about this and the words of the adulterer [male] in a recent session of this court contradict the words of the accused [female], thus the majority of the members of the court, given what has been stated, arrive at knowledge and certainty that the accused [female] despite the fact that her partner was available to her [had ehsan] nevertheless chose to commit adultery, and invoking Sections 83 (Clause B) and 105 of the Islamic Penal Law, sentences the accused [female] to stoning [rajm], and finally declares that given the general policy of the Judiciary and the guidelines issued regarding consideration of whether it is expedient in such cases to change the sentence to execution by other means, the sentence of stoning is changed to execution by hanging in the prison yard. The sentence can be appealed to the Supreme Court in person within 20 days from the date on which it was passed.
Head [of the Court] Ali Amini and Advisers of Branch 12 of the Penal Court of East Azarbaijan Province
Translated by International Committee Against Stoning and International Committee Against Execution: http://notonemoreexecution.org/, http://stopstonningnow.com.