Iran orders 99 lashes for woman facing execution, rights group says
The story seems to have come to CNN from a group called the International Committee Against Stoning. I’ve never heard of this group; here’s their website.
According to this group, this sentence was imposed for appearing in a photo without a headscarf. There seems to be some confusion as to whether it’s Ashtiani or someone else.
(CNN) — An Iranian woman who’d already been condemned to death faces another sentence of 99 lashes because of a case of mistaken identity in a photograph, according to foes of the execution.
Iranian authorities imposed the sentence after they saw the photo of a woman without a head scarf in a newspaper, the International Committee Against Stoning, a human rights group, said Friday.
In an apology, The Times of London, which ran the photo on its front page on August 28, said the woman was wrongly identified as Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who had previously been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery.
The Times said the photo actually is of Susan Hejrat, a political activist living in Sweden.
Iranian law requies all women, regardless of their faith, to wear garments that cover their hair and bodies.
According to the Times, one of Ashtiani’s former lawyers, Mohammed Mostafaei, gave the paper the photo.
Mostafaei told CNN Saturday that he still thinks the photo may be of his former client.