The Vatican may reach out in an attempt to save Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a mother of two, who faces stoning to death in Iran. As yet, no formal appeal has been made, however.
Holy See makes statement on matter
After being asked about the matter by journalists, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said the following:
"The Holy See is following this affair with attention and commitment.." He added that any such entreaty toward the government of Iran would not be made publicly. "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."
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani was convicted of adultery in 2006, for which she has already received 99 lashes. She was accused of having an affair with two different men, but her husband was reportedly already dead at the time. However, Iranian officials say the death sentence is not about adultery, but rather about her husband's death, for which they say she has been convicted of murder.
Malek Ejdar Sharifi, head of East Azerbaijan Province's judiciary, told the official Islamic Republic News Agency, "Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani has not been convicted of illicit sex only. "She has been found guilty of numerous and extremely heavy offenses. She was sentenced to capital punishment [in 2006] in the criminal court in Tabriz, the center of the province, for committing murder, manslaughter and adultery."
Even without an official inquiry by the Vatican, the stoning has already been postponed by Iran. The international response to news of the stoning has resulted in an outcry that at least has halted any stoning, to this point, but there are reports the execution may be carried out by hanging, instead.
However, she may also face more lashes. Reportedly, Iranian authorities have sentenced Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani to 99 lashes after the Times newspaper published a picture purportedly of her without a headscarf. The paper later retracted the picture, saying only that the photograph was of a different Iranian woman.
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