Reuters – The European Union has criticised Iran for stoning to death a man sentenced for adultery, saying the execution went against earlier Iranian pledges to curtail the practice.
"I am disappointed and devastated that Iran has backtracked from its declared moratorium on stoning by recently carrying out an execution by this horrendous method," EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said in a statement. An Iranian judiciary spokesman confirmed on Tuesday the recent stoning of Jafar Kiani in a village near the western city of Takestan but said his partner had been given a stay of execution while her case was reviewed.
Ferrero-Waldner called on Iran "as a matter of utmost urgency" to suspend the sentence on her.
"I urge Iran to respect all its international human rights commitments, to effectively enforce the moratorium on stoning at all levels of the judiciary," Ferrero-Waldner said.
The EU, leading international efforts to persuade Tehran to give up a nuclear programme it suspects is a cover for producing an atomic bomb, has repeatedly alleged human rights abuses in Iran.
Iran dismisses such charges, saying it is acting on Islamic sharia law and points to rights violations in the West.
