Iranian citizens stage silent protest in Yerevan
A group of Iranians today staged a silent protest outside the Iranian Embassy in Yerevan disputing the decision of an Iranian court to hang Iranian citizen Sakine Ashtiani.
The group was joined by Omid Esmailzadeh, who was sentenced to death in his country in 2002for his political affiliation. However, Esmailzadeh fled and left the country.
"The situation in Iran is inadmissible. Similar protests are organized worldwide in support of Ashtiani," said Mikael Danielian, the Chairman of the Armenian Helsinki Association.
Sakineh Ashtiani is an Iranian Azeri woman convicted of adultery, and since 2007 has been under sentence of death by stoning under Islamic Sharia law. An international campaign to overturn her sentence was started by her son and daughter, and it brought widespread attention to the case in 2010, when prominent media sources reported that she was sentenced to be executed by stoning. Ashtiani is also accused by the Islamic Republic of having conspired with the murderer of her husband. The international publicity generated by Sakineh Ashtiani's case led to multiple diplomatic incidents between the Iranian government and other nations.
Under international pressure, stoning was changed by hanging.
