Stoning: Iran won’t send woman to Brazil
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said a woman condemned to be stoned to death would not be sent to Brazil, despite President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s offer to grant her asylum.
The sentence imposed on Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani for adultery has caused an international outcry and become a surprise campaign issue in Brazil’s October presidential elections.
Lula, who has close relations with Ahmadinejad, offered asylum to the woman earlier this month, a proposal which was declined by the foreign ministry whose spokesman said the Brazilian leader had “not been provided with enough information” on the issue.
In an interview on Iran’s state-run English language Press TV, Ahmadinejad said: “I think there is no need to create some trouble for President Lula and to take her to Brazil.” “We are keen to export our technology to Brazil rather than such an issue,” he added. The interview was broadcast on Monday night with a voiceover translation into English.
Murder, adultery, rape, armed robbery, apostasy and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under Iran’s sharia law.
‘Western plot’
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told a news conference the furore over the stoning case had been stoked by the West to damage Iran. “This is more a plot in order to create problems in the very close relations with Brazil and Turkey,” he said.
Brazil and Turkey brokered a proposed compromise deal earlier this year on Iran’s uranium enrichment work, which the West fears is a cover for developing a nuclear bomb, something Tehran denies.
