Amnesty urges Iran to free stoning case detainees

Katarina Kratovac, Associated Press

CAIRO – An international rights group has urged Iran to immediately release the son and the lawyer of an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, saying the two were only trying to save her life.

The call by Amnesty International, made late Wednesday, comes as fears grow that 43-year-old Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani could also be soon executed for murder.

Ashtiani's case has triggered an international outcry and elevated tensions between Iran and the West, already high over suspicions about Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

Iran temporarily suspended the stoning verdict, and suggested Ashtiani might be hanged instead for her involvement with the murder of her husband.

Ashtiani was first convicted in May 2006 of having an "illicit relationship" with two men after the death of her husband — for which a court in Tabriz sentenced her to 99 lashes. Later that year she was also convicted of adultery, despite having retracted a confession, which she claims was made under duress.

According to the London-based rights group, Ashtiani's son, Sajjad Qaderzadeh, and lawyer Houtan Kian were arrested Oct. 10, along with two German nationals who were seeking to interview the son.

"With both her son and lawyer arrested, Ashtiani is in an even more precarious position since there she is no one left to publicly defend her," Amnesty's Iran expert Ann Harrison told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Ashtiani remains on death row in Tabriz and "could be scheduled for execution at any time," Harrison said.

Iranian state prosecutor Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi only confirmed the lawyer's arrest this week, Amnesty reported. He said the attorney was under investigation for links to "anti-revolutionary groups abroad" and for possession of forged or duplicate ID cards.

Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty's Mideast and North Africa deputy director, said he "may have been detained for no more than fulfilling his responsibilities" as Ashtiani's attorney and for talking to foreign nationals.

Iran has not confirmed the whereabouts of Ashtiani's son but Amnesty said it has been unable to contact him since and believes he too was arrested.

"It is hard to see that Kian and Qaderzadeh have been arrested for any other reason than because they wanted to publicize Ashtiani's continuing plight and to save her life," said Sahraoui.

Reports that Ashtiani's execution was imminent raised alarms in Western capitals this week. EU's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton was "deeply concerned" and demanded Iran "halt the execution and convert her sentence," her office said Wednesday.

The office of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said his wife Laureen Harper sent an open letter to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calling for Ashtiani's release. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner also said France was "very worried" about the case.

Following those statements, Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Wednesday that no final decision has been made about Ashtiani's case but that she "killed her husband," which would "be considered as a crime in every country."

On Thursday, the foreign ministers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, issued a joint statement condemning the expected execution and appealing on Iran to convert Ashtiani's sentence.

"We strongly demand the Iranian authorities prevent the execution," they said.

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Associated Press writer Malin Rising contributed to this report from Stockholm.