Iran is reeling under an international uproar over the sentencing of a woman to death by stoning for adultery, and now says no final decision has been made in the case, which is "under review." Human rights groups have called on the European Union to slap new sanctions against the Islamic Republic if it carries out the sentence.
The case concerns Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, 43, who was convicted four years ago of adultery and of being an accomplice in the murder of her husband. She was sentenced to death by stoning, but an international outcry so far has kept her alive.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner wrote the European Union Friday, calling on other European countries "to remind Iranian authorities that, just as in the nuclear matter, their isolationist and closed stance will have a cost for them."
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton replied, "The moment has come for the European Union to collectively express its rejection of practices of another age."
The defendant’s lawyer told the London Times that Iranian judicial officials know “their decision will have international ramifications. If they can get away with stoning Sakineh, they can get away with anything."
The woman recently was denied visits from her family and her lawyer, whose home was ransacked and searched, according to CNN.
"Because I am her lawyer, and working for her release and trying to prove that she is innocent, for this reason they are not letting me visit her," lawyer Houtan Kian told the television news channel. Another lawyer for Ashtiani fled Iran earlier this month after authorities harassed his family and arrested his wife. Kian said he would not leave the country despite pressure from authorities.
More than 100 cities around the world hosted protests on Saturday against stoning in Iran. Ashtiani is one of 24 Iranians, mostly women, who face a similar death penalty.