Stonning : The Court Verdict Concerning Sakineh Ashtiani
The emblem of the Ministry of Justice of the Islamic Republic of Iran
The Court's verdict
File number: 6 /84-92 Provincial Criminal Court
Indictment number: 19/ 6/ 1385 - 38
Bureau of Criminal Cases: 18/11/84- 237
The Court of Initial Jurisdiction: the Sixth Branch of the Criminal Court of the Province of Eastern Azerbaijan
Prosecutor: The honorable attorney general of Tabriz' Civilian & Revolutionary Courts
Accused: Mrs Sakinieh Mohamadi Ashtiani, daughter of Asghar, resident of Tabriz' prison, Tabriz, represented by . . .
Nature of the charge: aggravated adultery
The Court's proceedings: The differences of opinion among the members of the court have led to the issuance of a verdict by the majority as follows, and a separate dissenting opinion by the minority.
The Majority's verdict:
In this case, Mrs Sakineh Mohamadi Ashestani, born in 1347 (1968), raised in, and resident of Osku, daughter of Asghar is charged with aggravated adultery with men legally forbidden to her. In view of the content of the case file, the complaint of the children of the accused and her deceased husband, the late Ebrahim Qaderzadeh, and in light of the report of police investigators and the explicit confessions of said accused in all stages of preliminary investigations, and the reports of the interrogation sessions dated 9/9/1384 (30/11/2005) and 4/10/1384 (25/12/2005) (as described in pages 50, 58 and 63 of the case file), it seems that the primary motive of the accused for killing her husband, with the complicity of a male legally forbidden to her, who will be tried in another branch of the provincial criminal court, has been her illicit relations with male partners legally forbidden to her. Her grave moral depravity and other circumstantial evidence point to her commission of the crime of aggravated adultery and have as a whole, convinced the majority members of her guilt in committing the crime of aggravated adultery. Consequently, according to articles 43, 83 and 105 of the penal code, the court condemns her to the punishment of death by stoning. This verdict may be appealed to the Supreme Court within twenty days of the date of this verdict.
Signed by the presiding judge and the majority members of the sixth branch of the Provincial Criminal Court:
Imani, Seyf Ahmadi, Mousavi
"Dissenting opinion of the court's minority":
According to verdict no.114, handed down by the criminal branch of Osku's court on 27/2/1385, the accused, Sakineh Mohamad Ashtiani, case number 101/1385-38, was convicted and sentenced to suffer 99 lashes, for the felony of having had illicit relation with Messrs Nojumi, which sentence was, according to the statement of said convict, carried out.
The present criminal indictment of said convict (issued by the Provincial Criminal Court of Easern Azerbaijan), for committing the crime of voluntary adultery has no legal force since the original verdict has not been vacated, thus exposing the accused to double jeopardy. Furthermore, there is no supporting religious or legal evidence (confession of the accused or testimony of witnesses) in the [second] indictment to support the charges leveled against Mrs. Sakineh Ashtiani. Furthermore, the circumstantial evidence contained in the court record does not offer irrefutable knowledge of the guilt of the accused to the court. The subsequent indictment filed against her must, therefore, be dismissed.
The minority members of the 6th branch of the criminal court:
Kazemi Abdollahi
The Seal of the Court