Mr. Elma Brok

European parliament

Committee of Foreign Affairs

The Chairman

Date: 11 August 2006

Dear Mr. Brok

Re: Stoning Sentences of two Iranian Women; Ashraf kalhori & Malak Ghorbani

We are writing to further draw your attention to the fate of two Iranian women awaiting death in its horrific form; by stoning for the “crime” of having extra- marital affair. We have received this information from our network in Iran. Ms. Ashraf Kalhori, mother of four children 9- 19 year- olds, is currently in Evin prison in Tehran and scheduled to be stoned to death as a result of having an extramarital affair, despite her earlier request for a divorce being denied. The court did not approve Ashraf Kalhori’s plea for divorce, in spite of the fact that routinely women have little say in choosing their marriage partners.

The second case is related to Ms. Malak Ghorbani. She has been informed recently that she will be sentenced to death by stoning for sex outside of marriage. She is imprisoned in the city of Qrumieh, awaiting her sentence to be carried out.

We are gravely concerned about the lives of these two women. As a state party to the ICCPR, Iran has made an explicit and unreserved commitment under article 6(2) that if the death sentence is imposed it is to be “only for the most serious crimes.” The UN Human Rights Committee (in the case of Toonen v Australia) has made it clear that treating adultery and fornication as criminal offences does not comply with international human rights standards. Therefore the sentence of execution by stoning imposed on Ashraf Kolhari and Malak Ghorbani breaches Iran’s commitments under the ICCPR.

We urge you as for the case of the four Iranian women sentenced to death, take action so that we could stop these brutal death sentences. 

Azam Kamguian

Chairperson

The Organisation for Emancipation of Women

www.rahai-zan.org

azam_kamguian@yahoo.com

+44(0) 788 4040 835