STOP STONING THE TWO SISTERS TO DEATH!

STOP THE STONING TO DEATH OF THE TWO SISTERS; Zohreh and Azar Kabiri!!!!!
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BACKGROUND:
Zohreh,(27 years old) and Azar,(28 years old) are two young sisters from Khademabad, near Karaj, Iran. They are both mothers; each has one child.

Both were arrested on February 5, 2007 due to allegations of adultery given by Sohrehs husband. One month later, they were prosecuted in court, found guilty, and sentenced to 99 lashes. However, due to reasons unknown, both were returned to prison. Six months later, another prosecution took place for the same crime. This time, they were sentenced to death by stoning. The Supreme Court of Iran has confirmed this verdict.

At their first trial, conducted in the absence of a defence attorney, the Judge interrogated the two sisters and unlawfully obtained a dubious confession for adultery. The women have reported that questions asked of them were manipulative and ambiguous and they had no idea as to the full consequences of their responses. The Judge then used these illegal confession and statements, along with his instinct or knowledge in order to justify a sentence of stoning for the defendants.

According to Mehr news agency, Alireza Jamshidi, the Judiciary system spokesman, during his weekly press conference on the 15th of January 2008, gave the following statement concerning the stoning verdicts in Iran: It is unfortunately that these unreal and tendentious reports were given to the UN and human rights organizations. They are absolutely false.

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PETITION

Your Excellency,

I/We urge you to immediately cancel the execution of Zohreh and Azar Kabiri, two sisters from Khademabad, Iran who have been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, in the name of Islam. We are concerned that such an unacceptable and inhumane punishment is being applied to women who have already had the sentence of 99 lashes imposed and executed and have been denied a fair and transparent trial.

The Global Campaign Stop Killng and Stoning Women! is gravely concerned that Zohreh and Azar have been sentenced to death for adultery. In Iran, women are punished more harshly than men for having committed adultery; this however directly contravenes article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which provides that [a]ll persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law. In a speech delivered on 21 June, 2006 President Ahmadinejad stated that the country should be built upon the basis of justice, kindness, serving the people, progress and lofty goals. If Zohreh and Azar are executed, although punishment has already been carried out, then justice will certainly not have been served.

Furthermore, as a state party to the ICCPR, Iran has made an explicit and unreserved commitment under article 6(2) that if the death sentence is imposed it is to be only for the most serious crimes. The UN Human Rights Committee (in the case of Toonen v Australia) has made it clear that treating adultery and fornication as criminal offences does not comply with international human rights standards. Therefore the sentence of execution by stoning imposed on Zohreh and Azar Kabari breaches Irans commitments under the ICCPR.

We request that you stop the planned executions and take immediate action to remove death by stoning from the legal system.