Punishment for Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani put on hold
The case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who was convicted of adultery in 2006, has once again been put on hold amid an international outcry. Iran has suspended the punishment of death by stoning for the woman, as government officials review the case. “The verdict regarding the extramarital affairs has stopped and it’s being reviewed,” Ramin Mehmanparast, spokesperson for the country’s foreign ministry, told Iran’s state-run English-language channel. Ashtiani was convicted in 2006 of having an “illicit relationship” with two men after the murder of her husband the previous year. She has also been sentenced to death following a separate conviction for helping in her husband’s 2005 murder. The ministry said her sentencing for “complicity in murder” is still in process. “Defending a person on trial for murder should not be turned into a human rights matter,” Mehmanparast said.