Amnesty International has released a report entitled Iran: Executions by Stoning. The report indicates that despite a moratorium on stoning implemented in 2002 by the Head of the Judiciary, this method of execution continues as the mandatory sentence for adultery under the Iranian penal code.
The Iranian Legal and Judicial Affairs Committee advised removal of the clause permitting stoning in 2009, but this remains a topic of discussion in the parliament. Stonings disproportionately affect women in Iran, where the testimony of a man is valued at twice that of a woman, and women are highly susceptible to unfair trials.
As a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Iran is bound to adhere to the provisions of the treaty. Death by stoning violates both Article 6 which guarantees the right to life, and Article 7 which bans torture.
The report highlights multiple cases of women and men sentenced to stoning for “adultery while married.” The report calls for the Iranian authorities to reaffirm its commitment to the moratorium, enact legislation banning stoning as legal punishment, and to decriminalize consensual relationships.
Amnesty International has documented 77 stonings in Iran since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, though it believes this figure to be underrepresented, and stonings underreported.
Compiled from: Women’s United Nations Report Network, Iranians Still Facing Death by Storing Despite ‘Reprieve’, Amnesty International, Iran: Executions by Stoning, (25 February 2011).