General

Iranian woman sentenced to stoning death “confesses” murder on state television

Lawyer says confession was prompted by beatings and torture

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s confession to being an accomplice to her husband’s murder on Iran state television was recorded only after she was severely beaten and tortured in prison, according to her lawyer. He also said he is afraid Iranian authorities will act quickly and carry out a death sentence. In the interview, Ashtiani, who previously denied having an affair, describes how she struck up a relationship with her husband’s cousin. She said it was the cousin who came up with the idea to murder her husband. The head of the judiciary of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province told the television program that after Ashtiani had injected an anaesthetic into her husband, his cousin electrocuted him. It was not clear whether the cousin had been arrested. Ashtiani has already received 99 lashes for having an illicit relationship with two men and was sentenced to death by stoning until international outcry deferred her execution last month.

Telegraph

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