Vatican tries to help Iranian Adultress in stoning case

[Brandon]

As most of you know a 43 year old woman named Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani was convicted of Adultry in 2006 and sentanced to death. Now the vatican's taking steps through diplomacy to try and help her

Vatican: stoning in Iran adultery case 'brutal'

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican raised the possibility Sunday of using behind-the-scenes diplomacy to try to save the life of an Iranian widow sentenced to be stoned for adultery.

In its first public statement on the case, which has attracted worldwide attention, the Vatican decried stoning as a particularly brutal form of capital punishment.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said the Catholic church opposes the death penalty in general.

It is unclear what chances any Vatican bid would have to persuade the Muslim nation to spare the woman's life. Brazil, which has friendly relations with Iran, was rebuffed when it offered her asylum.

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani was convicted in 2006 of adultery. In July, Iranian authorities said they would not carry out the stoning sentence for the time being, but the mother of two could still face execution by hanging for adultery and other offenses.

Her son, Sajad, told the Italian news agency Adnkronos that he was appealing to Pope Benedict XVI and to Italy to work to stop the execution.

Lombardi told The Associated Press that no formal appeal had reached the Vatican. But he hinted that Vatican diplomacy might be employed to try to save Ashtiani.

Lombardi said in a statement that the Holy See "is following the case with attention and interest."

"When the Holy See is asked, in an appropriate way, to intervene in humanitarian issues with the authorities of other countries, as it has happened many times in the past, it does so not in a public way, but through its own diplomatic channels," Lombardi said in the statement.

In one of the late Pope John Paul II's encyclicals in 1995, the pontiff laid out the Catholic Church's stance against capital punishment.

John Paul went to bat in several high-profile cases of death-row inmates in the United States. One of the first was the case of Paula Cooper, who was convicted of murdering her elderly Bible teacher when she was 15 but spared the electric chair by Indiana in 1989.

But that same year, a papal appeal for clemency to Cuba to spare a war hero and three other Cuban officers convicted of drug trafficking from the firing squad went unheeded.

Meanwhile, Italy's foreign minister, Franco Frattini, told the ANSA news agency that while Italy respects Iranian sovereignty and isn't in any way interfering, "a gesture of clemency from Iran is the only thing that can save her."

Italy has strong economic ties, primarily energy interests, in Iran.

Vatican says in touch with Iran over stoning case

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (AFP) – The Vatican said on Sunday it was in contact with Tehran over the case of an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery amid a global diplomatic push for clemency.

The Vatican said it was using "diplomatic channels" to intervene in the case, while Italy urged Iran for a "act of clemency".

Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, a 43-year-old mother of two, is facing the death penalty after being convicted of having an extramarital relationship in a case that has sparked an international campaign for her release.

"The Holy See is following this affair with attention and commitment," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said in a statement issued in response to journalists' questions on the matter.

"The position of the Church, opposed to the death penalty, is known and stoning is a particularly brutal form," he said.

Intervention by the head of the Roman Catholic Church on humanitarian questions takes place through diplomatic channels, and this sort of action has been taken a number of times in the past, the statement said.

Pope Benedict XVI did not make any mention of the case at the traditional Angelus blessing on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini on Sunday called on Tehran to grant clemency in the case, the ANSA news agency reported.

While reiterating his "full respect for Iranian sovereignty," Frattini said "only an act of clemency could save the life of this person."

He added that contacts had taken place with the Iranian embassy in Rome.

Frattini also recently said he had arranged to meet his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki on the sidelines of the forthcoming UN General Assembly in New York.

The plight of Mohammadi-Ashtiani, who was also convicted of being an accomplice in her husband's death, which she has denied, has caused a global uproar.

Tehran meanwhile has provisionally suspended the death sentence.

On Saturday, Mohammadi-Ashtiani's son Sajjad said she had also been sentenced to 99 lashes for a photo of her without a headscarf published in a British newspaper.

A French petition has been signed by two former French presidents and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the wife of President Nicolas Sarkozy.

A hardline Iranian newspaper branded Bruni-Sarkozy a prostitute for signing the petition, with the French government describing the slur as "unacceptable".

France has urged the European Union to threaten new sanctions against the Iranian regime over the stoning case, while EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said talks were taking place with Tehran.

Mohammadi-Ashtiani's son called on the international community to continue the campaign, and appealed to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to use his country's ties with Iran to assist in her release.

Lula has already tried in vain to convince Iran to let Mohammadi-Ashtiani take asylum in Brazil instead of being executed.

I think, from our standpoint sucha  punishment is unusually excessive but Iran is a very different place (one of the few countries I havnt been to but if its anything like Iraq and Saudi Arabi its gotta be pretty bad there). I can only hope the Vatican's diplomacy succeeds in saving her

What do you guys think? About the crime, her chances, and if the vatican can help her at all?

[RubySlippers]

They are under Sharia law its a punishment normally given in the more consrvative nations. Sadly all this attention may be hurting her case she could maybe get imprisonment and flogging if she begged a higher court for mercy or the president intervenes. But the Vatican is making this public and political and worse for her now a fight of religious ideologies this could cause them to stone her on principle.

[Brandon]

The case was already made very public before the Vatican got involved. When I went looking for more information on this case I found 21 pages (listing 10 articles each). I have to admit though, many of those were reprints, only about 20 were originals. Each one made before the appeal by her son was made or before the Vatican made any response. If you want to blame someone for making it public, blame the people that posted those articles and to a lesser extent the son, who appealed directly to the vatican and other countries. Who can blame him for trying to save his mom?

Take a look for yourself

Vatican's Aid Sought for Iranian Sentenced to Stoning

VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 5, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The director of the Vatican press office indicated today that the Holy See would like to help stop the death by stoning of Sakineh Mohammdi Ashtiani.

The Iranian woman is convicted of adultery and condemned to be stoned to death. Iran has said that her sentence is not because of adultery but complicity in her husband's death.

Vatican spokesman Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi told journalists that “the Holy See is following the situation with attention and participation.”

The woman's plight has brought international criticism due to efforts by her son, Sajad Ghaderzadeh, to save her by drawing attention to her case. Ghaderzadeh told an Italian news agency that he has appealed to the Vatican for mediation.

Father Lombardi noted the Church's general opposition to the death penalty, adding that "stoning is a particularly brutal form [of it]."

He said mediation from the Vatican would come through diplomacy, not a public protest: "When the Holy See is asked in an appropriate way to intervene with authorities in other countries in humanitarian questions -- as has occurred often in the past -- she does so not in a public way but through the proper diplomatic channels."

An offer from Brazil to give her asylum has already been turned down.

[Jude]

They are under Sharia law its a punishment normally given in the more consrvative nations. Sadly all this attention may be hurting her case she could maybe get imprisonment and flogging if she begged a higher court for mercy or the president intervenes. But the Vatican is making this public and political and worse for her now a fight of religious ideologies this could cause them to stone her on principle.

Sharia law is not some unified entity, it's very much open to interpretation and lacking in structure.  The more fundamentalist elements of Islam may interpret things that way, but it has more to do with their personal insanity than any codified barbaric rules of the Islamic traditions (which is a myth being perpetrated heavily in the United States lately).

As for the Pope and the Vatican's comments on this issue, bravo.  Kudos to the Pope.

[HairyHeretic]

I'd be surprised if it gets anywhere. I doubt that the Vatican has any real relationship with Iran, and they've already turned down an offer of asylum from Brazil, which apparently is a country they have a fairly decent relationship with (heavy trade partners or something).

[Ironwolf85]

I don't think the iranians will give her up, their government is not one to see reasion easily, let alone bow to pressure form the vatacian, though the Pope is completely in the right for doing so.
in the US their rep may be damaged, but on the international stage.... I think they're still a force for good in many ways.

[Oniya]

Does it say anywhere who has refused the offer of asylum?  Is it Iran not letting her leave, or is it the woman saying that she doesn't want to leave the country she's lived her whole life in?

[Brandon]

As I understand it, someone asked Brazil (a predominantly catholic nation) to offer her asylum. From there I'm not sure if they refused or if Iran refused to let her go

Edit: Ok i found an article covering it, bolded the paragraph that counts for your question

Vatican may seek clemency for Iranian woman facing death by stoning

The Vatican has hinted that it may intervene in the case of an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning, but “not in a public way”.

"When the Holy See is asked, in an appropriate way, to intervene in humanitarian issues with the authorities of other countries, as it has happened many times in the past, it does so not in a public way, but through its own diplomatic channels," the director of the Vatican's press office, the Rev Federico Lombardi, said in a statement.

The Vatican spokesman did, however, assure the press that “the Holy See is following the situation with attention and participation”.

Lombardi noted the Church's general opposition to the death penalty, adding that "stoning is a particularly brutal form [of it]".

Four years ago, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani was convicted of adultery after having pled to the crime of "illicit relationship" with two men, though the incident occurred after the death of her husband. The mother of two later retracted her confession to the crime, claiming it was made under duress and that she does not speak Persian, but instead only Azeri, an Azerbaijani language more closely related to Turkish.

In May 2007, however, the Iranian supreme court confirmed her death sentence while leaving open the possibility of execution by another method.

This past July, Iranian authorities said they would not carry out the stoning sentence for the time being, but Ashtiani could still face execution by hanging for adultery and other offenses.

Brazil, which has friendly relations with Iran, tried to offered Ashtiani asylum but was rebuffed, making it unclear what chances – if any – the Vatican might have in persuading the Muslim nation to spare the woman's life.

According to reports, Iran has said that her sentence is not because of adultery but complicity in her husband's death.

Malek Ejdar Sharifi, head of East Azerbaijan Province's judiciary, said she was sentenced to capital punishment "for committing murder, manslaughter and adultery".

An international campaign started by Ashtiani's children has sought assistance in overturning her sentence and brought attention to her case.

[TheLegionary]

As a Brazilian, I have to say that unfortunately this country does not have stronger economic ties with Iran, even though we would be happy to sell them anything they needed apart from weapons of mass destruction - Chinese products dominate most of Iranian markets.

In an attempt to expand the country's diplomatic influence, the current Brazilian government tried to mediate between Iran and the US before the UN imposed sanctions. So the ties are merely political and derived from momentary convenience. Even so, the government believed there was some way to influence the Iranian government and offered political asylum for Ashtiani. As you reported, the offer was turned down, since the Brazilian government was "not fully aware of what was going on in Iran".

That is it.

[HockeyGod]

I concur with Hairy, I don't think the Holy See has much sway in Iran.

I think the only hope for this poor woman is:

Iran just folding for some obscure reason.

Intervention from a partner Middle Eastern / Islamic state.

Edit:

And we have an update to the case...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_iran_stoning_sentence

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iranian authorities have suspended the execution by stoning of a woman convicted of adultery, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, after weeks of condemnation from around the world.

[Ironwolf85]

woot... it seems Iran did not expect such condemnation from so many sources

[TheLegionary]

LOL....definitively, the Iranian government got frightened by the pressure of the international civil society!