In stoning (‘Rajm’ in Arabic), the accused is made to wear a white sheet and buried in a hole in the ground, males up to their waist and females up to their chest, and then tortured to death by having stones thrown at them.
The stones should not be so big that they kill the victim quickly, but not too small either. The aim is to kill the person gradually with the utmost pain.
During stoning, if the man or woman manages to escape from the hole, they are free to go.
The Islamic Republic of Iran bases its system of justice on Islamic law which demands that having a sexual relationship outside of marriage carries this death sentence.
Farshad Hosseini, who is a member of the International Committees against Stoning and Execution, has researched this subject. According to his statistics, in the last 31 years a minimum of 150 people have been stoned by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Today, at least 22 prisoners are waiting to be stoned. The majority of prisoners condemned to stoning are women. Public opinion in Iran is deeply against these crimes. That is why, in recent years, during stoning or public executions, the government tightens up security on the scene. Those who stone are mainly security forces in civilian clothes.
Today, these barbaric acts are passed as law and carried out in countries under Islamic governments, specifically the Islamic Republic of Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and in Afghanistan by the Taliban. For instance, see Article 83 of the Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Stoning clearly expresses the inhumane nature of the political Islamic movement, its parties and government.
Join us to stop this barbaric act. Join us to stop stoning.
Published by the International Committee against Stoning
August 2010
Translation by Susan Azadeh
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