Stoning woman rejects torture claim

Sakineh Mohammad Ashtiani, whose stoning sentence was suspended in July, was allegedly given 99 lashes on September 2 after a British newspaper ran a picture of an unveiled woman mistakenly identified as her, her lawyer said at the time.

“I have not been tortured, at all. All these words are my own words. Nobody has forced me to appear before camera and whatever I say is my own words,” said a blurry image of a woman identified as Ms Ashtiani in brief video footage.

The case has caused an international uproar, with several countries condemning her sentence and treatment.

This is the second time Ms Ashtiani has appeared on television to counter some of the outrage over the case. The first was in August when she confessed to being an accomplice to her husband’s murder.

Ms Ashtiani, 43, was convicted in May 2006 of having an “illicit relationship” with two men following the death of her husband and was sentenced to 99 lashes.

Later that year she was also convicted of adultery and sentenced to be stoned. The stoning sentence was suspended in July but not officially cancelled.