Being put to death by stoning must be one of the most cruel punishments imaginable. One would think it would be reserved for some of the most horrendous crimes imaginable. It isn't. At least, not in Iran, where some 200 people are on death row in Tabriz Prison, 35 of them women awaiting their turn to be stoned for crimes that seem by Western standards to be almost frivolous-among them, the crime of being raped. In Iran and other Muslim countries where it's practiced, it's mostly meted out girls and women.

The practice appears to have been adopted by Middle Eastern people pre-biblical times and has continued up to the present day. Basically, it consists of the victim being buried vertically in the ground up to the waist in the case of a man, and up to her neck in the case of a woman. Women may be covered by or wrapped in a white sheet. A crowd of men then forms a circle around the victim and hurls fist-size or larger rocks until the authorities decide the victim is dead.

The case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani broke upon the world's consciousness in early July because her two sons, Faride and Sajjad Mohammadi e Ashtiani, after getting nowhere with the Iranian authorities, appealed to the international community to try and save their mother's life. Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have joined in trying to bring pressure on Iran to spare Ms. Ashtiani and to stop stoning, period. Heather Reisman, CEO of Indigo Books, has initiated a petition against the execution.  It reads as follows:

WE the undersigned are aware of the unjust treatment of Sakineh Ashtiani. WE CALL FOR SAKINEH ASHTIANI'S IMMEDIATE RELEASE.

We also call for the elimination of stoning as a practice in Iran, a practice which violates any and all definitions of human rights.

In as much as Iran is a signatory to the International Declaration of Human Rights and related Conventions, we call upon Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the leaders of Iran to take responsibility for their commitments and intervene to free this woman who is being unjustly punished. WE also ask for the immediate end to stoning. No matter what the differences are in religious or political beliefs, Iran must participate, along with all other nations, in creating a world where basic human rights and fundamental humanity prevail.

Stoning is barbaric.... And it must be stopped.

To sign this petition, visit: www.freesakineh.org.

Ms. Ashtiani, a 43-year-old mother of two, was originally found guilty of sexual relations outside of her marriage and received the punishment of 99 lashes. Then she was tried again as an accomplice in the murder of her husband. That's when the sentence of stoning was imposed. Her sons, however, claim that she is innocent of both crimes.

Let's do what we can to save this woman and others awaiting a similar fate.

Bill Broderick is a director of Humanist Canada and chair of Humanist Quinte. Meetings are held September through November and January through June, in Room P-22, Loyalist College Training and Development Centre, fourth Sunday of each month, 1:30 p.m.. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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