They Are Going To Throw Small Stones At Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani
This morning I read about Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani. The Iranian mother of two will be stoned to death any day now, because she is a convicted adulterer.
Without delving into the collective cruelty of a country that would punish people for the “crime” of intimacy. I wont’ even talk about the fact that she has been in prison for five years. I do need you, my readers to stop what you are doing and carry a very important message to your communities. Please ask everyone know face to face and online, to call their representatives and ask their government officials to intercede on behalf of Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani.
It’s not enough that Ashtiani will die, but how she will die is horiffic. According to CNN:
Ashtiani, 42, will be buried up to her chest, according to an Amnesty International report citing the Iranian penal code. The stones that will be hurled at her will be large enough to cause pain but not so large as to kill her immediately.
That a woman is to be stoned to death in Iran is not, in and of itself, newsworthy. What is newsworthy is that this is a state sanctioned stoning.
If you are in the US, you can easily look up your Elected Officials here, and a message that includes: I am urging you to take immediate action regarding the imminent stoning of Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani in Iran, and to take a stand regarding the ongoing human rights abuses.
If you are on twitter, copying and pasting this into your timeline is highly recommended. @UN when will you intercede on behalf of #Ashtiani? http://bit.ly/bCeWGe
The United Nations does have a presence in Iran:
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The most pragmatic part of me has only a little hope that Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani will survive this, but I’ve come to learn that miracles do happen. I believe that the internet empowers everyone, not just those of us with a few Twitter followers and some coding skills.
So I am asking you, I am begging you to contact your elected officials here in the states, contact everyone possible in Europe, Africa and Asia. I’m hopeful that Australia, South America and Canada will be absolutely livid, and that we can save the life of one mother, and perhaps many more. Because I think we all know that this is only one of many.
If you have data about who to contact, particularly outside the US (as I don’t have much information about that) please leave it here in the comments. Hopefully we can reach more people.
Update:
This is how a stoning begins. Naturally Jack found it at this site.
Update: Ashtiani’s flogging five years ago was done in front of her children her son speaks to CNN again.