The
43-year-old Iranian woman who was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery,
has not yet been executed, the French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner stated.
He maintained that Iranian officials have assured him that a legal verdict on
the affair is yet to be reached.
The
mother of two was convicted for adultery with a man responsible for her
husband’s murder. Earlier this week the German-based International Committee
against Stoning claimed that authorities in Tehran have issued orders to Tabriz
prison for the execution of Ashtiani.
Jerzy
Buzek, the president of the European Parliament, also confirmed the news of the
postponement of Ashtiani’s execution adding that the Iran should now use this
occasion to review the case in a fair and transparent trial.
Activists of the rights groups
stated that global protests have managed to prevent the execution, yet the
threat of imminent execution remains.
Earlier,
London and Washington demanded that the plans of the execution be stalled
immediately. In a statement by the Press Secretary, the White House
strongly condemned Iran’s plans to execute Ashtiani. Alistair Burt, UK’s
Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, also asserted that the UK
government would regard the execution of Ms Ashtiani as “utterly
unacceptable”.
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