Brussels, 03/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - News from Tehran indicates that the execution of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, initially planned for Wednesday 3 November, has been postponed. The news was welcomed by the president of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, who declared in a press release that “if this news is confirmed, it would be a step in the right direction”. He called on the Iranian authorities to “seize this opportunity for re-examining the case of Ms Ashtiani” and transforming this case into “a fair and transparent decision”. Buzek also firmly condemned the death sentence against this young woman accused of adultery and participating in the murder of her husband. Buzek said that “the behaviour of the Iranian authorities is unacceptable. The arbitrary nature of this legal procedure demonstrates that instead of being fair and following the rules of a state of law, the Iranian authorities still treat people as if they were subjects rather than citizens”.
On Tuesday evening (on 2 November), a few hours before the announced (but ultimately postponed) execution of Ashtiani, Catherine Ashton also called on Tehran to commute the execution and change the sentence. The EU high representative for foreign affairs also considers that Ashtiani did not have a fair trial. She reiterated the EU's opposition to the death penalty, whatever the circumstances. (H.B./transl.fl)