Earth Times
written by dpa
Tuesday September 21, 2010 at 07:30:54 GMT
Tehran - The controversy over an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery was a media propaganda exercise against Iran, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
"The case was from the beginning organized media propaganda against Iran and to build up a human rights (violation) case," ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said,
Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, 43, was reportedly sentenced to death for adultery but the verdict is currently under review. Initial news of the stoning sentence provoked strong international criticism.
The woman is also charged with having been an accomplice in the killing of her husband.
The spokesman said the woman was first arrested on murder charges, and after investigations it became clear that she had also committed adultery with other men.
Mehmanparast said the case is under investigation and no final sentence has yet been issued on either of the charges.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted on Sunday that there had never been a death sentence issued against the woman. He said false news was spread to besmirch the reputation of Iran.
But the latest remarks contradicted earlier statements made by judiciary officials saying that Mohammadi-Ashtiani has been sentenced to death for adultery, and the verdict was being reviewed.
"The West should explain how defending human rights is related to defending criminals," Mehmanparast said, referring to the murder charges against the woman.
The spokesman also accused the woman's lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, of taking advantage of the case to get asylum in Europe.
"The lawyer tried to politicise the case by claiming that also his life was jeopardized for defending the woman but his claims were just to serve his own personal interests," Mehmanparast said.
Mostafaei has applied for asylum in Norway after an arrest warrant was reportedly issued against him. His family has since joined him.
A woman claiming to be Mohammadi-Ashtiani confessed last month on Iranian state television that she not only had a sexual liaison with her husband's cousin, but also helped the cousin to kill her spouse after having drugged him.
The woman also criticised lawyer Mostafaei, saying that she had to suffer shame after he made the case internationally known.
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