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PRESS RELEASE Wednesday Dec 22, 2004 Iran’s Islamic Republic caves in to international pressure:
Stoning of Hajieh Esmailvand suspended
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The stoning sentence against Haijeh Esmailvand, a young woman condemned to death in Iran for extramarital sex, has been suspended. The news comes at the end of an intensive ten-day long campaign to save Hajieh’s life, which moved and mobilized thousands of people in Iran and around the world. “Congratulations to all those who took part in this campaign and worked tirelessly to stop this horrific crime from taking place”, said Mina Ahadi, the campaign initiator and co-ordinator. “We succeeded because a large number of people were determined that such horrific violation of human rights would not be tolerated”. Last night, following strong rumours that Hajieh may be stoned today, people rushed to attend vigils and demonstrations in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Cologne. The campaign received huge publicity in the international media, foreign-based Iranian press, websites and radio and TV stations. The New Channel TV reported the campaign on a daily basis. Amnesty International issued Urgent Appeals, calling on its members and the public to write to the authorities in Iran to demand the immediate lifting of the stoning order. According to reports, people in the city of Jolfa, where Hajieh is still in prison, are saying that the Iranian regime clearly balked in the face of international pressure. The fate of the unnamed man, with whom Hajieh had had sexual relations and who has been sentenced to death by hanging, is still unknown. The campaign to save him and win the release of Hajieh and the other women who are still in prison, including 19-year-old Leyla, 14-year-old Zhila Izadi and her brother Bakhtiar, Kobra Rahmanpour and Afsaneh Noroozi, continues.
Organisation for Women’s Liberation International Committee Against Stoning www.azadizan.com www.stopstoningnow.com |