Jafar Kiani was stoned to death in Takestan in the province of Qazvin on 5 July, after serving an 11-year prison term. His crime was adultery. His partner, Mokarameh Ebrahimi, has also been jailed for 11 years along with her two small children, and may be next on the list. It seems only security agents, and not civilians, participated in the stoning.
Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have condemned the execution. They have appealed to the Iranian government not to stone Ebrahimi too. The news has been covered in both mainstream and citizen media.
Record of a Stoning
Asieh Amini, a blogger and journalist has visited the village where the stoning took place and talked with people there. Her report on the stoning has been re-published in several blogs and websites including Meydaan.
She writes:
The village itself is quiet; just a few old men sitting around the streets. A kid sits on top a wall dangling his feet. The first man I ask about the stoning flashes his teeth but doesn’t utter anything. I realize he is hard of hearing. As I repeat my questions louder and louder, the kid notices. I ask him. He shrugs his shoulders. A motorcyclist is passing by. I wave. He stops. He confirms the news without hesitation; pointing to the foothills. I ask, “Are you sure?”
- Saw it myself
– From near?
– No. [laughing] From distance. They wouldn’t let anyone near.
– How come?
– [pointing to distance] All over this area were agents. That dirt road there was closed off from both ends and nobody could pass except authorities.
– How many were they?
– Don’t know. Many. 50. 60. Maybe.
– So you are sure nobody from the village threw the stones?
– Yes, I’m sure. Nobody
“A Martyr of Love”
Z8tun offers [Fa] different theories on this story and calls Kiani, a “martyr of love”. The blogger suggests a few scenarios: 1- Ebrahimi's husband forced her into prostitution; 2- She asked for divorce but in Iran women have no right to divorce; 3- These two people love each other and eloped; 4- Nobody in their home town was ready to throw any stones at him, which is why the authorities moved him to a remote village.
Stoning and international relations!
Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a cleric and blogger, refers to the judge who ordered the stoning of Mr.Kiani, and says [Fa] it is very strange to imagine somebody, who despite being discouraged by legal and religious bodies, does his best to get somebody stoned. Abtahi rejects that because foreigners are against stoning, the judge somehow defies foreigners by ordering such a display. He says doing something just because foreigners are against it, is as much a contradiction to our independence, as following the requests of foreigners blindly.
He says Islam has the capacity to adapt itself to time and place, and the more important thing is to decide whether we want someone to be murdered with stones in the name of Islam.
A story of murder and poverty
Shahrzad comments on [Fa] this story and says only poor people get stoned in this country, and the rich ones always find a way out.
Many will conclude the same as View from Iran did: Stoning is murder… plain and simple.
12 comments
I won’t discuss the part whether this is Islamic or not or whether the judge is just defying foreigners. I simply can’t believe that humans can do such practices to each other I mean why not stone them from the beginning? why imprison them for 11 years ? And what about the children what kind of life is that for them in prison ?
Thank you for blogging about these issues.
What more can be said: stoning is murder – pure and simple
Depressing.
The Iranian regime couldn’t help the Americans’ aims more. This Mollah regime has proved again that it was ruled by complete psychopaths. Awful!
Democracy in Stone age period.
Nothing but pure murder. God have mercy on all who live under such regimes. It has got to end!!!!!!!!!
aweful – and to think it may have actually been about love..
As for what hppenned, I’ve heard that the poor sole tried to rescue her from forced prostitution, which is a sad commentary about the moral bankrupcy created by economic conditions of an Islamic country. As for the regime, it is true to its name, Islamic (no disrespect is intended). In fact they are very moderate if you copmare them to the actions taken by moslems, particularly orders of the profit, during the expansionist wars and what was done in Mecca! Separation of church and state is an essenial first step!
Iran: Mann nach 11 Jahren Haft gesteinigt…
Am 5. Juli wurde Jafar Kiani nach 11 Jahren Haft in Takestan (Provinz Qazvin) zu Tode gesteinigt. Sein Verbrechen war Ehebruch. Seine Partnerin Mokarameh Ebrahimi ist mit ihren beiden Kindern ebenfalls seit 11 Jahren in Haft und könnte die nä…