Iranian Television Broadcasts ‘Confession’ from Woman Sentenced to Stoning Execution

By Elizabeth A. Conger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran –  Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, an Iranian woman sentenced to execution by stoning for alleged adultery has reportedly appeared on Iranian state television and ‘confessed’ to her crime.  The ‘confession’ was broadcast on Wednesday night, and Ashtiani [or a woman who identified herself as Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani] confessed to conspiring to murder her husband with her husband’s cousin, the man she is accused of having an affair with.

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Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani / Photo courtesy of AP

The face of the woman who identified herself as Ashtiani was blurred, and her words were dubbed from Azeri, Ashtiani’s native language, into Persian.  These factors rendered positive identification of Ashtiani impossible.

The interview was broadcast the day after U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, urged Iran to honor treaty obligations which require Iran to respect the rights of citizens and to halt executions.

Ashtiani, a forty three-year-old mother of two, was first convicted of the crime of having an “illicit relationship” with two men in 2006 and received 99 lashes. Later that year an inquiry into whether she had committed “adultery while married” was opened and she was retried, receiving the sentence of execution by stoning.

Houtan Kian has taken on representation of Ashtiani since her last attorney, Mohammad Mostafaie, fled the country and sought asylum in Norway. He told the Guardian that the interview was genuine, and that Ashtiani was, in the days preceding the interview, “severely beaten up and tortured until she accepted to appear in front of the camera.” Kian added that he was worried that the judiciary would move quickly in order to carry out her death sentence now that they have a confession.

He reported that Ashtiani’s twenty two-year-old son and seventeen-year-old daughter were “completely traumatised by watching this programme.”

Nazanine Moshiri, an Al Jazeera reporter reporting from Tehran, said that a source connected to the Iranian judiciary has stated that is is unlikely that Ashtiani will be executed during Ramadan [which lasts until September 9th], and added that there remains a “small possibility” that her execution will be revoked.

The supposed confession comes nearly a month after her death sentence was suspended for judicial review.  Amnesty International’s deputy director for the Middle East, Hassiba Hadj Sahroui, said that the broadcast calls into question the independence of the Iranian judiciary. Sahroui stated:

“If the judiciary in Iran is to be taken seriously, this ‘confession’ needs to be disregarded  and assurances given that it will not affect the review of her case.”

Mina Ahadi of the Iran Committee against Stoning (ICAS) said:

“It’s not the first time Iran has put an innocent victim on a televised programme and killed them on the basis of forced confessions – it has happened numerously in the first decade of the Islamic Revolution.”

Ashtiani’s case still remains to be heard before the Iranian Supreme Court.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Iran stoning woman ‘confesses’ – 12 August 2010

The Guardian – Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani ‘confesses’ to murder on Iran state TV – 12 August 2010

New York Times – Woman Sentenced to Death by Stoning Reportedly Appears on Iranian Television – 12 August 2010

Radio Free Europe – Lawyers Say Stoning Defendant ‘Tortured’ To Confess on TV – 12 August 2010

 

TOUGH CONTROLS ON MEDIA COMING IN SOUTH AFRICA

By: Eric C. Sigmund
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – South Africa has again drawn the attention of the international community as the African National Congress (ANC), South Africa’s ruling party, seeks to create a media tribunal to crack down on violations of laws governing the press. 

Local and foreign media are criticizing South Africas ruling African National Congress.
Local and foreign media are criticizing South Africa's ruling African National Congress. (Photo Courtesy of AllAfrica)

The tribunal will adjudicate claims against media organizations alleged to have misreported news and information.  The government contends that the tribunal will be established to “provide tough action in cases of malicious, damaging, defamatory and misleading irresponsible reporting.”  The tribunal will be run by a press watchdog which would answer directly to the ANC-controlled parliament. This could allow the ANC to initiate proceedings against any media reporter or source critical of the government or its officers.  The ANC is currently running its own media campaign to persuade critics of the necessity of such a tribunal by claiming that a majority of the general public supports the plan. 

The South African media and many outside observers claim that this plan is an attempt by the government to limit freedom of speech in order to isolate the government from criticism.  In addition to others, the Press Council of South Africa has come out in opposition to the tribunal, claiming that it is unconstitutional.  In response to these claims, the government contends that the tribunal does not seek to extinguish media freedom but merely to enforce the existing press code. 

 At the same time the ruling party is attempting to pass the tribunal legislation, it is also pushing through a bill that would allow the government to prohibit the distribution of information which it defines as related to the “national interest.”  This legislation, called the Protection of Information Bill, would give the government more room to classify information as being important to national interests.  Those who disclose classified information would face up to five years in prison.  Although a general consensus has emerged that this bill will be passed, opponents hope that it will not be able to withstand judicial scrutiny. 

Although a formal vote on these two bills is pending, the government has already started arresting journalists for violating press control laws.  Last week a journalist was arrested and charged with “fraud and forgery” for possessing documents discussing the possible resignation of a top ANC politician.  The reporter was said to have been tied up in a car while his house was raided and numerous possessions seized by police.  The government contends that the arrest was not related to the new media controls and noted that all police forces are be held accountable for breaking the law. 

For more information, please see;

All Africa – ‘Most Citizens Agree on Need’ for Media Tribunal – 11 Aug. 2010

Eye Witness News – Media Appeals Tribunal to “Protect Public” – ANC – 11 Aug. 2010

iAfrica.com – ANC Gloats Over “Freedom” – 11 Aug. 2010

Wall Street Journal – South Africa Weighs Media Controls – 11 Aug. 2010

Associated Press – South Africa Ruling Party Proposes Media Tribunal – 10 Aug. 2010

MEXICO’S NUEVO LAREDO UNDER NEAR MEDIA BLACKOUT: DRUG CARTELS TIGHTENING CONTROL

By Erica Laster

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico – Nuevo Laredo, the busiest city along the United States-Mexico border with a population of over 360,000 is adhering to a near complete news blackout.  Drug cartels have forced the population and news outlets to stop reporting events occurring from drug related violence.   The Televisa affiliate in Nuevo Laredo suffered from a grenade attack thrown at the front door of its building less than two weeks ago.   However, both Televisa and its competitors failed to report on the attack.

Accused of working for Mexicos most powerful drug cartel, seven civilians and four police officers were escorted to a detainee prison in Nuevo Laredo in 2007

Using telephone calls, news releases and emails, drug smuggling organizations dictate the boundaries of what may be printed or aired to the public.  “We are under their complete control,” claimed a veteran reporter speaking anonymously.  Another editor claimed, “The cartels have eyes and ears inside our company.”

All of those who agreed to speak with the Washington Post insisted on anonymity and that any interviews take place at empty bars away from their offices.

Four journalists were recently kidnapped after covering a protest resulting from a warden’s alleged release of armed inmates.  In murder for hire, 3 massacres occurred with the prisoners given access to jail guard’s vehicles and weapons. While many of the dead were rival gang members, authorities confirmed that 17 young people were killed in an attack on a birthday party after prisoners shot randomly into the crowd – and then returned to their cells.  Ricardo Najera, a spokesman for the office of the attorney general indicated that ballistics matched four of the guns used in the shooting as the same assigned to guards in the northern Mexico jail.

Government officials and military representatives are also at the mercy of drug cartels.  The mayor of Nuevo Laredo disappeared for four days, returning with the refusal to discuss violence resulting from drug cartels.  Federal police, prosecutors and the military general presiding over city soldiers have refused to answer reporters’ questions or issue statements on drug violence.   With the arrest of 62 cops allegedly suspected of helping drug cartels, the country is facing a serious crisis.

“Intimidation and coercion have been taken to an extreme level.  This drug war is also a war of information. The cartels are now telling reporters what they can and cannot print, and the drug organizations themselves are the content providers,” the Latin America director of the Committee to Protect Journalists said. According to Director Carlos Lauria, 30 journalists have disappeared or been murdered since Mexico’s President launched a U.S. backed offensive against drug crimes.

Photo Courtesy of  WordPress.com

For More Information Please Visit:

NY Times Mexican Officials Say Prisoners Acted As Hit Men 25 July 2010

Washington Post In Mexico’s Nuevo Laredo, Drug Cartels Dictate Media Coverage 2 August 2010

CNN 62 Cops Linked to Drug Cartels Arrested In Mexico 29 July 2010