Stoning exposes cruelty
Causing uproar might not save a life now, but could spur long-term change By PETER WORTHINGTON, QMI AGENCY Last Updated: July 19, 2010 A reason to publicize the death sentence by stoning of an Iranian woman convicted of adultery is not that it may save her, but that it reveals better than anything the sort of country that would do this. In fact, reports are that 43-year-old Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiana may escape being stoned to death, but hanged instead as a result of publicity. Big deal. Iran is not the only country that authorizes death by stoning, but it is a country that seeks nuclear weapons and is run by people so deceitful and duplicitous that usual standards of diplomacy mean little. Prior to 1983, stoning deaths did not occur in Iran. At least, not officially. Under Iranian law, Article 83 outlines how stoning should be done - male adulterers wrapped in a sheet, like a mummy, buried up to their waist in a hole and pelted with stones "not large enough to kill ... by one or two strikes, nor so small that they can't be called stones." Fist-size stones, so it takes the victims 20 minutes to die. Unmarried adulterers get 100 lashes (Sakineh, mentioned above, has already had 99 lashes), but married adulterers get death. Stoning is the only death sentence that requires four witnesses (four men, or three men and two women), or if the accused person can be persuaded to confess four times to the charges. Iran, Pakistan, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, some Gulf states and primitive regions practice stoning, but few with the enthusiasm of Iranian clerics. A column such as this in the Sun won't change anything, but it serves some purpose by reminding readers what sort of a country we are dealing with. Eventually, Iran may return to something resembling civilized behaviour. Iran is a country where rebellion simmers beneath the surface - witness riots that erupted after the last election that was stolen from the people, and which were brutally crushed with death sentences handed out. As for stoning deaths, look no further than Sharia law that some - who should have known better - once urged be introduced into Ontario law in a modified form. NDP, of course, with tacit encouragement from the McGuinty government. Idiots all. Perhaps the most horrendous recent case of stoning was in Somalia, where a young women was buried up to her shoulders and stoned to death. Amnesty International investigated and found that the victim was 13 and had been gang-raped. It was claimed that her shame was such that she urged her own death by stoning. More nonsense. It's disputed whether "stoning" is justified in the Qu'ran. In Afghanistan, it was the Taliban who made stoning an "official" punishment for adultery, and who reveled in public executions. Those with strong stomachs, or who may doubt news reports, might Google "death by stoning" and watch a variety of videos of this taking place in various parts of the world. As for Sakineh, she's already been imprisoned for five years. Her sons, ages 22 and 17, campaign to save her. Although the stoning sentence has been stayed, it's unclear if the judicial clerics will have her hanged, freed, or if stoning will occur later. A dozen women and three men in Iran, all convicted of adultery, face death by stoning when the present outcry against the practice simmers down. As with so-called "honour killings," we should always maintain pressure to end this abomination. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [email protected]. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [email protected] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtmlYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
