Sakineth Ashtiani’s Execution Postponed Again

Once more the Iranian authorities have delayed the execution of Sakineth Mohammadi Ashtiani, turning the life of the poor woman into living hell, and playing with the minds of millions of people across the world, who began rallying and petitioning for her life.

Ashtiani was expected to be hung yesterday on charges of conspiracy to commit the murder of her husband in 2005.

According to human rights activists although she was not executed yesterday it is likely that she may be executed in the near future as the international community does not seem to be able to dissuade the Iranians, although serious efforts have been made at all levels, including at the presidential one, as the outgoing president of Brazil Ignacio da Silva has intervened personally on her behalf offering her sanctuary in Brazil.

Ashtiani was arrested in 2006 under the accusation of adultery and was sentenced to death by stoning, the penalty for such crime in the Muslim world.

The sentence was called “barbaric” by many world leaders and democratic bodies which condemned it along with the human rights watchdogs which protested the penalty.

As the case became international the Iranian justice postponed the execution and later they commuted it, and the people in the entire world were hoping she would be saved.

The lawyer that defended her said the case was built on testimonies obtained under torture. That brought him persecution and blackmail and put in the position to run for his life to the free world, escaping from Iran into Turkey and then going to live in exile in Norway.

Then, Ashtiani was accused of appearing in the Western press without the veil covering her head, which is also a major offense in Iran. By the time the editors of the newspaper that published the photo explained it was a confusion and it was not Ashtiani’s picture, she had already been lashed for it.

The Iranian justice changed the accusations focusing on the charge of conspiracy to commit murder. She was accused of having conspired with a relative of her husband to kill him.

The penalty in Iran for conspiracy to commit murder is death by hanging.

The sentence was suspended during the holy month of Islamic Ramadan, and people all over the world feared she would be executed as soon as the Ramadan was over.

But when Ramadan was over Mahmoud Ahmadinejad embarked for the U.N. General Assembly in New York, so the execution had to be put on hold again.

It came back under spotlight yesterday, when she was scheduled to be hung.

As soon as the word was out, the reactions appeared. Thus, the European Parliament and European Union demanded the Iranian regime to stop the execution. The International Committee against Hanging also appealed for her release.

People all over the world are now signing petitions in favor of stopping the execution of Sakineth Ashtiani.

You can do the same in your country if you value life and consider that the human dignity must be preserved and uphold.

Wise people say that the life of one person values as much as the life of the universe itself. I am inclined to agree with them.