TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian authorities have arrested two foreigners as they were interviewing the son of a woman who could face death by stoning on an adultery conviction, the state news agency reported Monday.
Judiciary spokesman Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi said the two had entered the country on tourist visas and did not have documents to prove they were journalists. They were arrested while interviewing the son of 43-year-old Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, whose stoning sentence has generated international outrage. The spokesman’s comments were carried on the official IRNA news agency.
The whereabouts of Ashtiani’s son, Sajjad Qaderzadeh, were not immediately known and his cell phone was switched off, raising questions about whether he may have been arrested. The cell phone of his mother’s lawyer, Houtan Kian, was also switched off.
Ejehi did not identify the two foreigners or their nationalities. He said a person who was present during the interview alerted the authorities that led to the arrests, but he did not say who it was.
Iran has temporarily suspended the controversial stoning verdict against Ashtiani under international pressure, but says no definite decision has yet been made about her case.
Ashtiani was first convicted in May 2006 of having an “illicit relationship” with two men following the death of her husband — for which a court in Tabriz, in northwestern Iran, sentenced her to 99 lashes. Later that year she was also convicted of adultery, despite having retracted a confession which she claims was made under duress. She was sentenced to death by stoning for the adultery conviction.
Stoning was widely imposed in the years following the 1979 Islamic revolution, and even though Iran’s judiciary still regularly hands down such sentences, they are often converted to other punishments. The last known stoning was carried out in 2007, although the government rarely confirms that such punishments have been meted out.
Under Islamic rulings, a man is usually buried up to his waist, while a woman is buried up to her chest with her hands also buried. Those carrying out the verdict then throw stones until the condemned dies.
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historypaper
Posted on October 12, 2010 at 2:59pmDoes the United Nations or Hillary Clinton support the arresting of Fake Journalists?
Report Post »SilentReader
Posted on October 12, 2010 at 4:56amIran steps up assault on female activists
.by Nasrin Sotoudeh on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 at 12:56am.
Editor’s note: Gissou Nia is a researcher and legal analyst at the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center. She recently co-wrote a report on the Iranian government‘s crackdown on women’s rights activists. She also worked on war crimes trials at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague.
As Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited the U.N. General Assembly in New York last month, the spotlight was once again on Iran. And true to form, the Iranian president made his fair share of provocative statements for the Western media.
But while Ahmadinejad’s mercurial rants captured our media’s attention, back in Iran a coordinated strategy against the women’s movement continued.
Shiva Nazar Ahari
On the eve of Ahmadinejad’s arrival to New York, Shiva Nazar Ahari, a prominent young female defender of human rights, received a heavy sentence of six years in prison on charges including the vague crime of “waging war against God” — a convenient catch-all offense for anyone who criticizes the regime and its human rights record.
There’s no denying it — Iran’s women have had a bad year. Nazar Ahari joins a steadily increasing number of other women’s rights activists who are in prison for no greater crime than their attempt to fight for the rights of the women.
Hengameh ShahidiHengameh Shahidi, Alieh Eghdam Doust, Bahareh Hedayat and Mahdiyeh Golrou have all been sent to Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison on trumped-up charges related to their activism. And while Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, arguably the most internationally recognized Iranian women’s rights activist, remains unable to safely return to her country, the government is targeting those affiliated with her for arrest and imprisonment, including her lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and her former aide Jinous Sobhani.
Nasrin Sotoudeh
Since the 2009 disputed elections and associated government crackdown on the overall reform movement, the government has increasingly targeted women activists. The reasons behind this go well beyond the misogynist nature of Iran’s religious leadership.
Jinous Sobhani
Rather, it is more part of a deliberate and calculated strategy of the Iranian authorities to strike at the heart of the regime’s greatest vulnerability — internal legitimacy with its own people.
Iran’s government recognizes and fears the broader power of the women activists who have been on the front line of reform in Iran for more than a decade. One can roughly draw an analogy between the women’s movement in Iran to movements of religious groups in Burma or Tibet, or the labor “solidarity” movements in the former Eastern bloc and associated labor-Roman Catholic solidarity in Poland — all advocating initially for the freedoms of a specific group but which provoked government fears for their transformative power to promote broader human rights progress.
While the outside world occasionally reacts to the most egregious manifestations of Iran’s repression of women — such as the international condemnation associated with Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, an Iranian widow sentenced to stoning on charges of alleged adultery — these events are often portrayed simply as a consequence of the regime’s archaic viewpoint about gender.
Bahareh HedayatMahdiyeh Golrou
However, the government’s direct targeting of women goes beyond chauvinism and is an integral part of a strategy to quell any momentum for larger internal reform.
Women activists in Iran have worked for years at the ground level to promote internal change. Although Iran’s women suffered a significant setback with the imposition of discriminatory laws following the 1979 revolution, an ease in restrictions during Mohammad Khatami’s presidential term in the late 1990s and early 2000s allowed women to organize around reforms and emerge as a formidable grass-roots force in civil society.
Women-led campaigns to collect signatures in support of reform of gender discriminatory laws and protest the stoning of women formed and grew rapidly, attracting many members and international attention. In the years that followed, women were often at the forefront of staging public protests.
During the presidential election campaign in 2009, women activists, drawing on their grass roots and organizational experience, played a critical role in shaping and influencing the political platforms of the opposition candidates.
So when the government set out to suppress the larger civil unrest that broke out in Iran’s major cities after the election, it set its sights on a perceived catalyst for this unrest — the well-established women’s movement.
In the mass indictments issued in August 2009 by Tehran’s prosecutor general, women were identified as an element of an alleged “soft” revolution. Women’s rights activists report that government interrogators warned them to cease their activities and accused them of supplying the political opposition with organizational and leadership skills and knowledge.
Today the regime continues to systematically target the women’s movement, whose leading campaigners are being silenced, imprisoned and exiled in increasing numbers.
It’s not sufficient for members of the international community to speak up only occasionally at the most shocking manifestations of the Iranian regime’s targeting of women. Rather, a sustained, consistent and broader campaign must be waged that seeks to promote and give voice to the major catalysts of comprehensive human rights progress in Iran — its brave women activists.
http://www.facebook.com/FreeAhmadZeidabadi#!/note.php?note_id=164365863589407&id=157026050976786
Report Post »chiquelitz
Posted on October 12, 2010 at 4:55amWe can all thank Jimmy Carter for abandoning Shah Pahvlavi (a Western ally) in 1979. Carter and his entourage of liberal foreign policy analysts supported the fundamentalist Islamic regime and their Ayatollah with no forethought (or brains), and now the world is burdened by this country that arms terrorists, threatens to annhilate Israel, and is frighteningly close to having nuclear weapons. Jimmy Carter and his coterie of left wing activists didn’t know about Sharia Law? How come? Prior to 1979, Iran had open universities where women actually taught classes. Now they’re being lashed and stoned. It’s time for Carter to answer, and time for America to say…”No, Mr. Abajoke, you are no longer allowed access into the U.S…you‘re now on the ’no fly list.’
Report Post »SilentReader
Posted on October 12, 2010 at 4:44amSakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s son and lawyer were arrested last night
.by Ahmad Zeidabadi on Monday, October 11, 2010 at 5:23am
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s son and lawyer, Sajjad Ghaderzadeh and Houtan Kian respectively, were arrested along with two German journalists in Tabriz on 10 October 2010 at 1900 hours local time. The security forces raided the lawyer’s office where an interview was taking place and arrested all four.
Their whereabouts are currently unknown and no news has been received of their situation since their arrests. All that is known is that they were arrested given that at the time of the raid, one of the journalists was on the phone speaking with Mina Ahadi, Spokesperson of the International Committee against Stoning and International Committee against Execution. He had to abruptly end the call when the security forces brutally pushed their way in.
Since the arrests, Mina Ahadi has tried to contact them for several hours but to no avail. She also immediately contacted the relevant press agency and the German authorities. The arrests have now been confirmed.
We will make every effort to to secure the release of the four and call for increased pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran. The four and Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani must be immediately released.
International Committee against Stoning
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/note.php?note_id=449778671029&id=251787963860
http://www.facebook.com/FreeAhmadZeidabadi#!/FreeAhmadZeidabadi
Report Post »SilentReader
Posted on October 12, 2010 at 2:36amHere’s the answer.
http://patriotword.blogspot.com/2010/06/radical-islam-and-e-bomb.html
Report Post »SilentReader
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 11:26pmI recommend that we disable their electrical system and put them back into the Stoneage where they belong.
Report Post »toongoon
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 11:13pmAnd still waiting to hear from the National Organization of Whores…
Report Post »zippy
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 10:32pmThese people are the **** roaches of the world. Dark aged beasts every one of them. Trash of the planet. My stomach turns every time I see one of them. 100 degrees outside and the women are covered in black. The men are slimy pigs. We should do strafing runs on their country and spray pig blood over the entire land.
Report Post »motorman
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 10:10pmWait a minute! This scared me…..do I have Islamophobia now…….oooohh noooo!
Report Post »OneFunR6
Posted on October 12, 2010 at 12:38pmDo unto others BEFORE they do unto you.
They make threats, idle, or not, then….
A 1st strike is self-defense.
Report Post »firedragon
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 8:44pmAdd your comments
Report Post »egosumverum
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 8:08pmIslam sucks – it is NOT a religion. Iran should be nuked. NOW!
Report Post »OneFunR6
Posted on October 12, 2010 at 12:30pmThat’s a little harsh, don‘t ’ch think?
How about nuking Meca and Medina, too, while we’re at it.
[see previous post above!]
Report Post »OneFunR6
Posted on October 12, 2010 at 12:32pmegosumverum,
Oh, how thoughtful and nice of you!
‘They’ want nuclear weapons real bad, and YOU are prepared to give some to them!
ROFLOMA!
Report Post »quicker
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 7:02pmcareful now you`re talking about the religion of peices
Report Post »OneFunR6
Posted on October 12, 2010 at 12:23pmYou mean religion of ‘peace’?
Umm, no, that‘d be the religion of ’blown ‘them’ to pieces’…
How about instead of continuing to let THEM [try to] blow us to pieces,….
WE blow some of them to pieces.
No Mecca, No Medina,…. there goes two of the ‘pillars of Islam’.
Two out of five ain’t bad!
Report Post »Awakenow
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 4:51pmIslam is great . . . . . . . if you are a Muslim man who does as he is told! Otherwise it sucks.
Report Post »Tony Nagy
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 4:39pmI’m wondering?…. does the USA have a list of people that are ‘Persona Non Grata’, meaning these people are not welcome in the USA(im not sure about my Canada either)…. I’ll tell you this, and mean it!, if I ever hear—-> If a mad man in a dinner jacket, has any idea’s to come here, I’ll ask for a stinger!, and gladly go down in history if caught….. Shhhhhhhh !
Report Post »Danglinbags
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 4:26pmIran…land of the free, home of the seksie Ahmadinejad!
Report Post »CoFX
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 5:32pmI’m glad you still show up to embarrass yourself, Dbags.
Report Post »red penny
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 4:17pmA phoney religion in a nation run by radical fools.Take a close look—–coming to a city near you in the near future if we don’t get our collective heads out of the sand!!
Report Post »DagneyT
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 4:02pmActually the last three stories, if we are correctly guessing who the perpetrators with the C-4 are……hmmmm?
Report Post »rthudgins
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 4:02pmTake Note, These things are coming to pass in America, if we let muslim shira law have ANY influence here..
Report Post »walkwithme1966
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 4:34pmShari law is not coming to America – that is just another fear mongering tact to scare people!!
http://wp.me/pYLB7-dA
Report Post »Maybe the GEESE Know More than the BEES Know
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 5:02pm@walkwithme1966….
Report Post »you might want to consider ‘runninguptothe2010’s’.
Halal is being introduced to Canada via none other than Campbell’s Soup.
try to keep up
Polwatcher
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 6:04pmSharia is already in several European countries including the UK. Obama wants to make the USA look like Europe.
Report Post »NoName22
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 6:44pmIt’s not fear mongering.
Freedom of religion – free to practice whatever your religion how you see fit. If your religion has a set of laws that you are obliged to follow if you are a sincere practicioner, then if you are not allowed to do what the law of your religion says, then you are not free to practice your religion.
It’s coming, don’t worry. Move to where it snows, Islam began in the desert.
Report Post »RealityCheck
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 7:38pm@ Walkwithme1966
Really? Like living in denial? Our President is supporting a Sharia compliant cartoon for our kids, you need to wake up and take a look around. Denial is not a river.
Report Post »pinkcadlac
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 8:25pm@WALKWITHME1966
Surely, you jest!
Report Post »Polwatcher
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 4:01pmThis form of barbaric capital punishment is no less barbaric than cannibalism. Just like cannibalism, everyone gets to join the party and fully participate.
Report Post »DagneyT
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 4:00pmInteresting how these last two stories are juxtaposed? Good JOB, & KUDOS to The Blaze staff!
Report Post »Taquoshi
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 3:52pmAh, yes, that wonderful religion of peace. So compassionate, so understanding, so enlightened!
Report Post »Maybe the GEESE Know More than the BEES Know
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 4:58pmthat’s right! it’s all butterflies and unicorns!! we’re supposed to shut the ___ up and ‘COEXIST’.
Report Post »isn’t this fun?
:-/
cheezwhiz
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 3:51pmUnder Islamic rulings, a man is usually buried up to his waist, while a woman is buried up to her chest with her hands also buried. Those carrying out the verdict then throw stones until the condemned dies.
Report Post »——————————————-
Now wouldn’t it be nice if there were cartoons explaining such intricate religious ceremonies to kids ?
halfbrain
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 4:20pmyes, it’ll be on the next episode of the 72 oh i mean the 99
Report Post »cheezwhiz
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 4:47pmAs-slalm-walaikim little jihadies and hijabies,
Report Post »today you will be learning about an important islamic ritual, called stoning to death.
Allah wants you to kill for many reasons and sometimes for no reason at all. Its upto you little jihadies and hijabies to express yourself by the killing method you deploy .
So first we will be showcasing stoning of women ,
followed by hanging of gays.
Next week we will train you on beheading kafirs and how to record and post videos on youtube.
Once the basics have been covered, we will move to the more important religious ceremonies like how to strap suicide vests followed by how to lie and cheat to fulfil taquiyya .
After you littles jihadies are good and ready to go among the kafirs , you will be introduced to the wonderful world of bacchabazi.
The hijabies under the age of 9 years will be married off to local mullahs and the rest will be used as allah’s loyal servants .
During the course our show will feature such stalwarts as Hussain Obama, Jummah Carter, Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said, Fairy Khan , Ayman alzawahiri and an address from the grave by Yasser Arafat.
Allahu-akbar…
pinkcadlac
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 8:21pmYes, and the cartoons could depict the equitable treatment between the men and the women. The men are buried to their waists only, and the women are buried to their shoulders, because…if the stoning victims is able to dig themselves out, before their brains are bashed in, they are free to leave.
Report Post »Seems like the men have a little advantage. I’d like to see that one explained to all the little kiddies
DagneyT
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 3:49pmWhat’s bad about a widow having a relationship with a man? Or even two? Oh yeah, right. Sha’ria law. Can you hardly wait, folks?
Report Post »firedragon
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 8:41pmyou‘re right I guess women don’t have needs but, muslim men sure don’t mind paying a couple dollars for hollywood women to feed their sick minds with dancing & sexual gratification. They can lay down with them and partake. What a danger to even try their torture with american freethinking women ha!.
Report Post »MAULEMALL
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 3:49pmAnd we are surprised by what??
If you waltz around Iran you should expect to be kidnapped and or Murdered..
Report Post »klstj
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 4:26pmI’m with you. All these bleeding heart liberals and peace activists. The only reason they can run around protesting is because of the freedom this country provides. They are so biased and uneducated as to the real world, they go on a hike or play games with an interview for a term paper. Next thing you know they are getting their heads cut off on the internet or sentenced to life for stepping on the wrong line. Other than that, I wish for their safe return and wish others to heed the warnings. These countries don’t screw around and their rules are whatever they want them to be.
Report Post »SOFLARIDER
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 5:08pmI disagree. It’s all too easy to sit here in safety denouncing the US for waterboarding or wiretapping. This is exactly what those defenders of freedom and decency should be doing.
Report Post »CoFX
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 5:44pmAgreed, Maule. If you are not smart enough to recognize the dangers outside your comfy little life in the USA, then you should probably stay home. I didn’t feel sorry for the hikers that accidentally stayed over into Iran either, because they shouldn’t have been anywhere near the border. Or the rich brittish couple out cruising on thier sailboat who got captured by Somalian pirates – that’s right, out having fun sailing in the waters off Somalia. If you willfully put yourself in harms way, you have no one to blame.
Report Post »Jetson
Posted on October 12, 2010 at 3:20amRight on CheezWhiz.
Report Post »M31Sailor
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 3:48pmIf Obummer or Charlie Christ are the one throwing stones this could take forever. These two girlie men
Report Post »(my apologies to girls everywhere) throw like sissies.
Sailor
Breaker 19
Posted on October 11, 2010 at 5:46pmBut AKEMADENAJAD gets a free pass to NYC? (sorry for spelling, public educated)
Report Post »snowleopard3200
Posted on October 12, 2010 at 4:45amI have a simple way to increase talks directly with Iran. Just send President Obama on a one way diplomatic trip to Iran, revoking his passport, and have Air Force One leave him and the VP and Ms.Pelosi and Hillary on the ground in one shot…they love the fanatical president of Iran, let them live there for several years and then see how it goes.
http://www.artinphoenix.com/gallery/grimm (mixed art)
Report Post »