Well, I mentioned that Press TV interview with Sakineh last week, and as one of my readers has reminded me, I didn't post it for you as I offered to. I'm sure you remember that for a fast 24 hours, the internet was alive with this idea that Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani had been freed? It turned out that she was just reenacting "her crimes." I actually sat on posting about her purported release for a while because I just couldn't believe that the IRoI would have caved in and released her. Sure, she'd been flogged 99 times (at a minimum- still not sure about that story that she got more for appearing unveiled in the photo that turned out not to be her but hey, some people thought it was her and so maybe she should be flogged so more... though with all the scrutiny, I think that highly unlikely) just as proscribed for her adulterous behavior, which she confessed to, then denied, then reconfessed to, not once but twice, and now three times on Iranian (Press) TV. Of course, Iran says she is guilty not just of adultery (*raisedeyebrow*) but complicity with her husband's murder (which she denied but now says, oh yeah baby, did I ever help fry that sucker....).
The original concern over Sakineh's fate was that she had been sentenced to death by stoning for the crime of adultery, a fact has been vehemently denied by Iranian president Mahmoud Amadinejad while he visited the US last fall. I can tell you however, that the documentation (translation) obtained by Amnesty International clearly states that Sakineh was sentenced to death by stoning not for murder but for adultery, in direct opposition to the claims of Amadinejad. Azerbaijani sources claim yet another iteration (translation)- that Ashtiani's husband was involved in narcotics use and that he was prostituting her to pay for his habit and he ended up dead as a result.
When it comes to these interviews, it seems as if almost everyone, except perhaps Sakineh's son, Sajjad, has an agenda here. Even Sakineh herself, since obviously she has a clearly defined role to play. From Mohammed Mostafei to Mina Ahadi to whoever wishes to comment on behalf of the Islamic Republic including Amadinejad, everyone seems to have some stake, or offer some version of reality, that is not quite what it seems.
The original concern over Sakineh's fate was that she had been sentenced to death by stoning for the crime of adultery, a fact has been vehemently denied by Iranian president Mahmoud Amadinejad while he visited the US last fall. I can tell you however, that the documentation (translation) obtained by Amnesty International clearly states that Sakineh was sentenced to death by stoning not for murder but for adultery, in direct opposition to the claims of Amadinejad. Azerbaijani sources claim yet another iteration (translation)- that Ashtiani's husband was involved in narcotics use and that he was prostituting her to pay for his habit and he ended up dead as a result.
When it comes to these interviews, it seems as if almost everyone, except perhaps Sakineh's son, Sajjad, has an agenda here. Even Sakineh herself, since obviously she has a clearly defined role to play. From Mohammed Mostafei to Mina Ahadi to whoever wishes to comment on behalf of the Islamic Republic including Amadinejad, everyone seems to have some stake, or offer some version of reality, that is not quite what it seems.
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