Vatican says in touch with Iran over stoning
case
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (AFP) - – The Vatican said on Sunday it
was in contact with Tehran over the case of an Iranian woman
sentenced to death by stoning for adultery amid a global diplomatic
push for clemency.
The Vatican said it was using "diplomatic channels" to intervene
in the case, while Italy urged Iran for a "act of clemency".
Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, a 43-year-old mother of two, is
facing the death penalty after being convicted of having an
extramarital relationship in a case that has sparked an
international campaign for her release.
"The Holy See is following this affair with attention and
commitment," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said in a
statement issued in response to journalists' questions on the
matter.
"The position of the Church, opposed to the death penalty, is
known and stoning is a particularly brutal form," he said.
Intervention by the head of the Roman Catholic Church on
humanitarian questions takes place through diplomatic channels, and
this sort of action has been taken a number of times in the past,
the statement said.
Pope Benedict XVI did not make any mention of the case at the
traditional Angelus blessing on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini on Sunday
called on Tehran to grant clemency in the case, the ANSA news
agency reported.
While reiterating his "full respect for Iranian sovereignty,"
Frattini said "only an act of clemency could save the life of this
person."
He added that contacts had taken place with the Iranian embassy
in Rome.
Frattini also recently said he had arranged to meet his Iranian
counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki on the sidelines of the forthcoming
UN General Assembly in New York.
The plight of Mohammadi-Ashtiani, who was also convicted of
being an accomplice in her husband's death, which she has denied,
has caused a global uproar.
Tehran meanwhile has provisionally suspended the death
sentence.
On Saturday, Mohammadi-Ashtiani's son Sajjad said she had also
been sentenced to 99 lashes for a photo of her without a headscarf
published in a British newspaper.
A French petition has been signed by two former French
presidents and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the wife of President Nicolas
Sarkozy.
A hardline Iranian newspaper branded Bruni-Sarkozy a prostitute
for signing the petition, with the French government describing the
slur as "unacceptable".
France has urged the European Union to threaten new sanctions
against the Iranian regime over the stoning case, while EU foreign
policy chief Catherine Ashton said talks were taking place with
Tehran.
Mohammadi-Ashtiani's son called on the international community
to continue the campaign, and appealed to Brazilian President Luiz
Inacio Lula da Silva to use his country's ties with Iran to assist
in her release.
Lula has already tried in vain to convince Iran to let
Mohammadi-Ashtiani take asylum in Brazil instead of being
executed.
-- Yahoo! News
