Iran Coerces Sakineh Ashtani Into Murder Confession
You recall the Iranian case about a woman with two kids sentenced to death by stoning for having an affair while being married with another man?
Her name is Sakineh Ashtiani, 43, she was convicted of this crime in May 2006. The affairs were with two men after her husband died. For that crime, she received 100 lashes. Then, the Iranian court felt it was not enough, so then they sentenced her to death by stoning for adultery, since she was legally still married. This was based on a confession by her stemming from torture.
Now, because of international uproar, Iran has changed the verdict to being an accessory to murder of her husband, in order to reduce the brutality of death by stoning. Now she is destined to simply be hanged. Since many Western countries have the death penalty for crimes, this should quell the uproar.
Ashtiani claims she was tortured into making the confession and unwittingly became an accessory saying she was deceived by a man who had called saying, " let's kill your husband". She thought the man was joking and long after found out that is what he did for a profession.
Oddly, the man did come to their home and while the husband was unconscious, attached wires to his neck and electrocuted him as she watched. Iran court says that she injected her husband with a narcotic causing sleep.
It is difficult to see whose story is legit. Ashtiani agreed about the phone call, yet allowed the man to come to the home, failed to stop him (most would do this IF they did not want someone to die). If she did this, how can this be "unwittingly"? She could have said, no to the man. Tried to stop the man. Yet, none of that happened.
Weird. Her attorney states Iran coerced the whole confession in order to have the murder charges which allows for Iran to hang her. The confession was aired on Iranian TV yet, her face was blurred out, why? Her face has been in the news many times.
Smells like a rat. Iran and its Islamic law wants her dead for having an affair while married even though her husband was dead. Thus, if this cannot happen by stoning under Islamic law, then, Iran plays it as murder, hanging her to placate the West.