Sunday, January 2, 2011

Stoning of woman could be quashed: Judge

Tehran: The sentence of death by stoning handed down by an Iranian court against a mother of two for adultery could be quashed, a senior judiciary official said on Sunday, adding that some ambiguities remained in her case.
   When asked by Fars news agency whether the stoning sentence against Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani could be quashed, Malek Ajdar Sharifi, the head of East Azerbaijan judiciary, said that “anything is possible”.
   Sharifi’s remark came a day after Sajjad Ghaderzadeh, the son of Mohammadi Ashtiani, pleaded for her execution by stoning to be stayed. Sharifi also said that certain “ambiguities” still remained in the “evidence” gathered in Mohammadi Ashtiani’s case, and this was causing the delay in taking a final decision over the verdict. The cleric said it is easy to issue a verdict in a case where the murderer clearly confesses to his crime. “But in this case where the defendant (Mohammadi Ashtiani) denies or makes justifications and there are ambiguities in the evidence, the procedure gets prolonged,” he said when asked why a final verdict in her case was still not taken. AFP

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