A reprieve - kind of. Nice people...

Two stories from the UK Guardian. Story #1) - Iran halts woman's death by stoning

A 43-year-old Iranian woman will not be stoned to death after an international campaign launched by her children.

It is unclear whether the authorities have lifted the death sentence for alleged adultery against Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani or if she faces execution by another means.

Mohammadi Ashtiani endured a sentence of 99 lashes after being convicted in May 2006 of conducting an "illicit relationship outside marriage". But her case was reopened when a court in Tabriz suspected her of murdering her husband.

She was acquitted, but the adultery charge was reviewed and a death penalty handed down on the basis of "judge's knowledge" � a loophole that allows for subjective judicial rulings where no conclusive evidence is present.

Her case has highlighted the growing use of the death penalty in a country that has executed more than 100 people this year.

Her son Sajad, 22, and daughter Farideh, 17, told the Guardian their mother had been unjustly accused and punished for something she did not do, prompting international appeals for the death sentence to be lifted.

Under Iranian sharia law, the sentenced individual is buried up to the neck (or to the waist in the case of men), and those attending the public execution are called upon to throw stones. If the convicted person manages to free themselves from the hole, the death sentence is commuted.

Nice that if you free yourself during the stoning process, you are free to go. Must suck to be buried up to your neck. Oh Wait -- that's only women who get that treatment; men only get buried to their waist. Story #2) - Iran stoning case woman ordered to name campaigners

Iran has put fresh pressure on the woman it last month sentenced to death by stoning, demanding the names of those involved in the campaign for her release.

The case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani has drawn international attention after her children launched a campaign for her release. After a global outcry last month, Iran's judiciary said Sakineh would not be put to death by stoning, but still faced execution by hanging.

The 43-year-old mother of two has been interrogated inside Tabriz prison over the names of the people who have been in touch with her family and the way her photo has been distributed among the media, the Guardian has learned.

Sakineh's photo, which has been distributed all over the world, has become a defining image for human rights activists campaigning against stoning in Iran.

"Sakineh has been under big pressure since the world has paid attention to her case", a source close to her family told the Guardian. "Recently she was questioned and asked to advise her children to remain silent, otherwise they will be arrested too. International attention is the only hope for Sakineh's release", the source added.

And this is a nation that is pursuing nuclear energy but only for power generation (honestly!!!) meanwhile it is sitting on the largest oil reserves of the middle east. A fscking pox on radical islam and all of those who worship the false prophet. A fscking pox on the 'progressive liberals' who enable this scum and who give them an equal place to sit at the world's table. I am a bit hacked especially as the city of Tabriz was where Rumi's friend Shems came from and Sufism is what I would consider to be pure Islam (submission of one's heart and self to the love of God) where what these sons of pigs and apes are practicing is a pale shade -- a black perversion. Their idea of submission is that dhimmi must submit to them. Μολὼν λαβέ assholes...