Children of Iranian woman on death row ‘threatened’
By IANSThursday, September 16, 2010
Tehran, Sep 16 (IANS/AKI) Children of the Iranian woman, sentenced to death by stoning for adultery and killing her husband, have launched a plea for help from the international community after receiving “threats” by security authorities at home.
“Help us. We feel alone and, with an exception of our brave lawyer Javid Hutan Kian, inside the Islamic Republic we are completely abandoned,” read an open letter sent late Wednesday to AKI by Kian and written by Sajjad and Sahideh Ghaderzadeh.
The Ghaderzadehs’ mother, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, had been sentenced to death by stoning but following international pressure, Iranian authorities have said they would not carry out the stoning sentence for the time being, but she still faces execution by hanging.
In the letter the Ghaderzadehs say they have been threatened by security agents who pledged continuing harassment.
“When intelligence agents broke into our lawyer’s office they threatened us, telling us that even if we succeed in saving the life of our mother, we will never be left in peace.”
They said the “threats have made our lives into a tragedy. We don’t know what else to do. We are alone and worried. Even worse, we have been shunned by our relatives who don’t want to see us because of our support for our mother”.
“Don’t leave us alone,” the children said in the letter, pleading for further international support.
–IANS/AKI
