A man was stoned to death in Iran for adultery but the woman involved in the case repented, the judiciary said yesterday, suggesting that her life had been spared.
The Islamic republic has been heavily criticised by the EU, rights groups and the UN for stoning convicted criminals and there are official Iranian recommendations that the practice should not occur.
Asked whether he could confirm that a man charged with adultery was stoned to death in the northern city of Rasht, judiciary spokesman Alireza Jamshidi said: “What you said about stoning is correct. But the woman repented . . . Among the instances in which the sentence is not performed is when there is a repentance by the individual involved.”
Iranian media said the executed man was 30 years old.
Iran’s Islamic penal code states that men convicted of adultery should be buried up to their waists and women up to their chests for stoning. Stones used should not be large enough to kill the person immediately. In January, Jamshidi said two men convicted of adultery were stoned to death in the city of Mashhad. – (Reuters)