Nobel Women's Initiative

International outcry saved a 43-year-old Iranian woman from death by stoning last week, but her life remains in jeopardy. Iranian officials announced on Friday that Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani would not be stoned, but she may still be executed by other means.

Women activists, politicians, and celebrities mobilized this week calling for Ashtiani's release and an end to stoning. Iranian Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi, online publisher Arianna Huffington, and Yoko Ono joined an urgent online petition that recieved close to 1,000 signatures per hour on Thursday night.

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Ashtiani's children, Farideh 16, and Sajad 20, have repeatedly asserted that their mother is innocent, and her lawyer has called the 2006 trial in which she was convicted a sham. Two of the five judges found no forensic evidence of adultery. But Ashtiani, like many women in Iran's prisons, was sentenced to death merely on the basis of "judges knowledge" - a legal loophole that allows judges to make subjective rulings when a case lacks evidence.

The Iranian government's decision to review Ashtiani's verdict has shown that it remains sensitive to international public reaction. Iran has not carried out executions by stoning since 2007.  The regime has, however, executed 100 individuals this year, and the future remains uncertain for those facing death sentences. Twelve other women and three men also face stoning for adultery, though the total number of individual held for the charge remains unknown.

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LEARN MORE

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani will not be stoned to death - for the time being, The Guardian, 12 July 2010.

Heather Reisman spearheads 11th-hour bid to save Iranian woman from stoning, The Globe and Mail, 08 July 2010.

Iranians still facing death by stoning despite "repreive," The Guardian, 08 July 2010.

TAKE ACTION

Sign the online petition at FreeSakineh.org and join the international call for the release Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani.

Write to Ayotollah Khamenei and Iran's leaders on Avaaz.org and demand an end to capital punishment by stoning.