Factbox: Facts about Iranian woman sentenced to stoning
(Reuters) - The sentencing of an Iranian woman to be stoned to death for adultery led to an international outcry, prompting authorities in the Islamic Republic to suspend it, but she still faces possible execution by hanging.
Following are facts on the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, 43.
* Ashtiani's husband was murdered in 2005, after which an Iranian court convicted the mother of two of having an "illicit relationship" with two men.
Amnesty International says she received 99 lashes as her sentence but she was subsequently convicted of "adultery while being married," which the human rights group says she denied. For this, she was given a stoning sentence in 2006. She is also accused of involvement in her husband's murder.
* After it was publicized, Ashtiani's sentence caused an international furor. The European Union called it "barbaric," the Vatican pleaded for clemency and Brazil offered her asylum. The case further strained Tehran's relations with the West, already at odds over Iran's nuclear program.
* A local judiciary official in July said the stoning of Ashtiani had been suspended for the time being due to "humanitarian reservations." However, he said Ashtiani would remain in prison and could still face execution.
* Iran's state television in August showed footage of Ashtiani confessing to adultery and involvement in her husband's murder. With her face blurred in the telecast, Ashtiani described how she had struck up a relationship with her husband's cousin. The British government and Amnesty condemned the screening of the alleged confession.
* Iran accused international media of manipulating the story to demonize the Islamic Republic, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denied in September that Ashtiani had ever been sentenced to stoning. He said her case had been used as "propaganda" against his country.
* Iran arrested two German reporters in October as they were interviewing Ashtiani's son. Tehran has held the two on espionage charges since then and has accused them of coming to Iran to "stage propaganda."
* A senior judiciary official told state television in November there was a good chance Ashtiani's life would be spared.
* Sympathisers of Ashtiani around the world were briefly relieved in December when word of her release spread on the Internet. Their hopes were crushed after it became clear old photographs showing Ashtiani at her home had been misinterpreted as indicating she was free. As Iranian officials emphasize Ashtiani's case is purely a judicial matter, she remains in prison waiting for a final review of her case.
* Adultery is the only crime which carries the stoning penalty under sharia law, in force in Iran since 1979. A judiciary spokesman announced in 2008 the suspension of some executions by stoning but said individual judges were still free to order stonings until laws were integrated. Two men were stoned to death in 2008 and one in March 2009.
Stoning is rare in Iran compared to executions by hanging, which can be carried out for crimes such as murder and rape. The practice involves victims being buried up to their midriffs and pelted to death with medium-sized stones.
(Writing by Zahra Hosseinian, editing by Mark Trevelyan)
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