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Iran Woman 'Surprised' At 99 Lashes Reports
9:28pm Wednesday September 08, 2010
An Iranian woman who faced being stoned to death for adultery has expressed surprise over reports she was lashed 99 times in a separate punishment, a judicial official says.
Ms Mohammadi-Ashtiani's death sentence has been suspended
Vahid Kazemzadeh, a member of the country's Islamic Human Rights Commission, told the Fars news agency he met Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani. He said they discussed claims she had been punished over a picture in The Times, which appeared to show her without a headscarf.
The newspaper later acknowledged the woman in the image, published on August 28, was not Ms Mohammadi-Ashtiani, 43, and apologised for its mistake. Ms Mohammadi-Ashtiani's son, Sajjad, said on Monday he had "heard" his mother had been given 99 lashes for indecency over the picture.
But following his meeting with the woman, Mr Kazemzadeh said she was "unaware and surprised" by the reports. He also said that Ms Mohammadi-Ashtiani's death sentence has been suspended "on the orders of the head of the judiciary", confirming what Iran has been saying since July. Mr Kazemzadeh said the woman told him she continued to have weekly meetings with her family and children.
Human rights bodies have denounced her stoning as barbaric.
However, Sajjad said on Monday he had had no contact with his mother since her televised "confession" on August 11 in which she admitted having a hand in her husband's murder, for which she was sentenced to 10 years in jail. Ms Mohammadi-Ashtiani has also filed a complaint against her lawyer, Mr Kazemzadeh said.
She accused Mohammad Mostafaie, who she has never met, of tarnishing her and her family's reputation by "conducting interviews and spreading news without her consent", the judicial official added. Ms Mohammadi-Ashtiani claimed the lawyer left Iran after she had paid him nearly £1,300 to represent her.
"The whole world is aware of my situation because of Mostafaie's rogue action. I am ready to be present in front of the media and on television any time to defend myself," Mr Kazemzadeh quoted her as telling him. Several international governments and human rights bodies have condemned Ms Mohammadi-Ashtiani's sentence and some have questioned whether she received a fair trial.
Amnesty International said suspending the stoning did not go far enough because it was only temporary and urged Iran to overturn the death sentence "once and for all".
