URGENT: Execution of Sakineh Ashtiani Believed to be Imminent: 5 Things You Should Do NOW

According to news received from the International Committees against Stoning and Execution, the Islamic Republic is preparing to execute Sakineh Ashtiani in the next few days. The ICAS/E press release is below, both translated to English and in Farsi. (German translation of this post at Julia’s Blog)

We ask all concerned individuals to do the following:

1) Contact your State Department or Foreign Ministry with the following message:
I demand that this government exert the utmost diplomatic pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran to:
a) prevent the execution of Sakineh Ashtiani
b) secure the immediate and unconditional freedom of Sakineh Ashtiani, Sajjad Ghaderzadeh, and Houtan Kian.
Sincerely,
[your name]

Contact information for Foreign Ministries and the US State Department:
FOREIGN MINISTRY ADDRESSES:
michael.spindelegger@bmeia.gv.at
kab.bz@diplobel.fed.be
info@mvp.gov.ba
iprd@mfa.government.bg
imprensa@itamaraty.gov.br
ministar@mvpei.hr
minforeign1@mfa.gov.cy
podatelna@mzv.cz
udenrigsministeren@um.dk
vminfo@vm.ee
umi@formin.fi
bernard.kouchner@diplomatie.gouv.fr
inform@mfa.gov.ge
guido.westerwelle@auswaertiges-amt.de
gpapandreou@parliament.gr
titkarsag.konz@kum.hu
external@utn.stjr.is
minister@dfa.ie
gabinetto@cert.esteri.it
segreteria.frattini@esteri.it
mfa.cha@mfa.gov.lv
tonio.borg@gov.mt
secdep@mfa.md
Netherlands Foreign Ministry contact form (Maxime Verhagen)
post@mfa.no
DNZPC.Sekretariat@msz.gov.pl
ministro@mne.gov.pt
senec@mne.gov.pt
pm@pm.gov.pt
miguel.moratinos@maec.es
registrator@foreign.ministry.se
info@eda.admin.ch
CONTACT FORM: US Department of State

If you want to send mail to all foreign ministries, it may be easier for you to copy and paste the list of email addresses in the following format; thanks to Deb Slattery for the contribution:
kab.bz@diplobel.fed.be;info@mvp.gov.ba;iprd@mfa.government.bg;
imprensa@itamaraty.gov.br;ministar@mvpei.hr;minforeign1@mfa.gov.cy;
michael.spindelegger@bmeia.gv.at;udenrigsministeren@um.dk;vminfo@vm.ee;umi@formin.fi;
bernard.kouchner@diplomatie.gouv.fr;inform@mfa.gov.ge;
guido.westerwelle@auswaertiges-amt.de;gpapandreou@parliament.gr;titkarsag.konz@kum.hu;
external@utn.stjr.is;minister@dfa.ie;gabinetto@cert.esteri.it;podatelna@mzv.cz;
segreteria.frattini@esteri.it;mfa.cha@mfa.gov.lv;tonio.borg@gov.mt;secdep@mfa.md;
post@mfa.no;DNZPC.Sekretariat@msz.gov.pl;ministro@mne.gov.pt;senec@mne.gov.pt;
pm@pm.gov.pt;miguel.moratinos@maec.es;registrator@foreign.ministry.se;info@eda.admin.ch;

2) Contact Bernard Kouchner, the Foreign Minister of France (bernard.kouchner@diplomatie.gouv.fr), with the following message asking France to be the first to close the doors to the Embassy of the Islamic Republic in France:
Dear Mr. Kouchner,
It has come to my attention that the Islamic Republic intends to execute Sakineh Ashtiani within the next two days. If the Islamic Republic executes Sakineh Ashtiani, I urge the French government to close the doors to the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in France. The honorable people of France, and in particular the women of France, have shown their broad and consistent support for Sakineh Ashtiani and her family; Carla Bruni Sarkozy has publicly advocated in Sakineh’s defense, and drawn a slanderous response from the Islamic regime for doing so; and France’s President Sarkozy has taken it as his personal duty to defend Sakineh Ashtiani. France should take the international lead in closing the regime’s embassy in Paris. It is the only appropriate diplomatic response to the Islamic Republic regime’s ongoing perpetration of human rights atrocities.
Sincerely,
[your name]

3) Send this sample letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, and encourage everyone you know to do the same. [ SAMPLE LETTER ] Contact addresses to send to: inquiries@un.org, npillay@ohchr.org, urgent-action@ohchr.org

4) Mobilize to protest at the United Nations in New York City on December 11 to
a) demand a UN resolution to criminalize stoning, and
b) to demand immediate expulsion from the UN Commission on the Status of Women of the Islamic Republic of Iran and all other states whose authority is dependent on gender apartheid and violence against women.

If Sakineh is executed, the UN will be held responsible for its refusal to act or even issue a strong statement against the stoning of Sakineh Ashtiani.

5) If the Islamic Republic executes Sakineh Ashtiani, regardless of how they implement the murder, people living near offices and embassies of the Islamic Republic should immediately deposit a pile of stones (painted red if possible) in front of the door or gate to the regime’s office or embassy. If feasible, tape photos and/or posters of Sakineh to the doors, windows, gates, etc.

* * * * *

ICAS/E Press Release #85: The Islamic Republic Intends to Execute Sakineh Immediately

According to the news received by the International Committees against Execution and Stoning this evening, November 1st, the Islamic regime’s officials in Tehran have sent the order to implement Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s execution sentence to the office of sentence implementation at Tabriz prison. It has been said that they mean to execute Sakineh on Wednesday, November 3rd.

We have previously reported that the regime has stolen the murder files of Sakineh Mohammadi’s husband from the office of Houtan Kian and from the court of the city of Oskoo in order to make the necessary fabrications that would show Sakineh as being guilty. Sajjad and Houtan had warned about this eventuality many times. With the arrest of Sakineh’s lawyer and her son, and holding Sakineh herself incommunicado, on the one hand, and by tampering with the case files on the other, the Islamic Republic’s “human rights” entity has declared in a press release that “according to existing documents, Mrs. Ashtiani’s guilt is proven.” Indeed, [despite their best efforts,] the Islamic Republic has created a whole scenario against Sakineh’s execution.

We call on all concerned international organizations and people of the world to do all they can to prevent the killing of Sakineh. Sakineh, Sajjad, Houtan Kian and the two German journalists should be freed immediately and unconditionally.

Posted on November 1, 2010 by missionfreeiran

Response to Letters Asking For Help For Sakineh, Mostafaei & Iran

As part of it's work supporting the campaigns to save Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani from her sentence of death by stoning in Iran, The AIM and several of it's members have emailed and posted a number of letters and petitions to a large number of government officials, human rights organisations and media outlets. A few days ago, The AIM received a response to one of the emails sent which you can read below. I have also received a response to a letter I sent to Downing Street which was then passed to The UK Foreign Commonwealth Office asking for pressure to be applied for Iran to be removed from The UN Commission on the Status of Women. The letter text and responses are available to read here. These letters and emails were based on samples provided by our comrades at Mission Free Iran.

Original Email to EU Governments:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to you with an urgent request that you intervene with the authorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran, who continue to harass, intimidate and persecute Mohammad Mostafaei, and have issued a warrant for his arrest, in the wake of the international outcry demanding freedom for his client, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani. The regime has also taken as hostages Mostafaei's wife and brother-in-law (Fereshteh and Farhad Halimi), imprisoning them in a craven attempt to force Mostafaei to turn himself in.

Mohammad Mostafaei is a lawyer who has honorably and courageously defended Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani against a stoning execution in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The worldwide outcry against the execution of Sakineh Ashtiani has created embarrassment and political difficulties for the Islamic Republic, and they have harassed and attempted to intimidate Mr. Mostafaei in an effort to reduce the pressure on the regime that has been caused by the campaign for Mostafaei's client Ashtiani.

I condemn the reprehensible injustice of the Islamic Republic; the regime should not be allowed a free hand to silence Mostafaei and terrorize his family in this way. Iranian lawyers must be free to represent their clients without fear of harassment and intimidation of themselves or their loved ones. I therefore demand immediate and unconditional freedom of Mostafaei's family; immediate and unconditional guarantee for Mostafaei's safety and freedom of practicing his legal obligations towards his clients; immediate end to harassment and intimidation of Mostafaei, his family, friends, and colleagues; and immediate and unconditional freedom for Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is solely responsible for the safety and freedom of Mr. Mostafaei.

Diplomatic sanctions, including travel bans, freezing of bank accounts, and expulsion from international organizations such as the UN must be used to force the Islamic Republic to comply with international law and standards of human rights. I expect this government to take immediate steps to implement serious diplomatic sanctions against the criminal regime of the Islamic Republic.

Sincerely,

The Anti-Injustice Movement

www.antiinjusticemovement.com

Response to Email from Finland:

Dear people of The Anti-Injustice Movement,

Finland, as a part of the European Union, is following closely the developments of the human rights situation in Iran. We are aware of Ms. Ashtiani’s case and are keeping watch on her situation.

Iran is a State Party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This Covenant includes e. g. right to a just and fair trial, which is also contained in the Constitution of Iran. The Covenant also prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, has recently voiced EU’s profound concern on Iran's increasing use of the death penalty and discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities and women.

The EU has repeatedly demanded Iran to comply with its international and national human rights obligations. Finland and other EU countries have summoned the Ambassadors of Iran several times in regard to the human rights situation in Iran. We also continue to support efforts to improve the human rights situation in Iran.

Sincerely,

Jussi Soini

Regional Manager

Unit for the Middle East and North Africa

Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

jussi.soini@formin.fi

AIM Takes Part in International Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtaini Day

Friday night, well more Saturday early morning actually, saw me sitting on my living room floor cutting up cardboard packing boxes, applying tape, staples and poly pockets and doing lots and lots of printing. The end results were some homemade protest placards and signs of different sizes and alot of letters and petitions. I was pretty pleased with myself.

Saturday morning saw me carry these on the train to Edinburgh. 2pm saw Lilith and I standing at the bottom of the mound speaking to people about Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani and her pending sentence of death by stoning, and collecting signatures to have Iran removed from the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

The response we had was almost all positive and it made us both feel good that so many people passing by recognised the picture of Sakineh and were aware of her case. Worryingly a large number of people were under the impression she had been pardoned and was out of danger but we did everything we could to give out the most accurate and up to date information. We were approached by several different Iranian people who were visiting Edinburgh from their new home countries such as France and Canada. One female Iranian was almost in tears as she thanked us for what we were doing and told us that the help of international campaigns and governments did make a difference and was definitely needed. During the two and a half hours that we were there we spoke to the old, the young, men, women, even some children, blacks, whites, asians, orientals, locals, tourists, lawyers, students, the unemployed, gays, straights... almost all of whom cared.

We ran out of letters and petitions to be signed, and gave out a good number of AIM business cards to the many people who wanted to follow the case further. Of nearly 100 pieces of paper taken with us, be they letters to the PM, petitions to the UN or facts and information about Sakineh and the campaigns working to help her, they were all either signed or handed out. Some passersby even agreed to have their pictures taken holding a photograph of Sakineh to show their support of her and all those many others in her position.

So that was The AIM in Edinburgh, but we were not alone in the actions we took. All over the world people came out and showed their support of Sakineh on what the campaign to save her has named International Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani Day. The AIM was represented at a protest in Toronto, Canada by member Coffy and his daughter Dee. Our One Law For All comrades took part in protests in London and we also heard that an AIM supporter and GRep member held a small protest with her friends in California. Most countries in Europe had rallies and protests as well as a number of cities in Canada, the US and Australia.

There is still a lot of work to be done if Sakineh is to be saved. At the moment her case is being reviewed and the decision has been put off for a further 20 days. Many, including myself, believe that this is in the hope that the eyes of the world will turn elsewhere and Iran can then stone her behind the closed doors they have until recently enjoyed. We cannot allow this to happen. The life of Sakineh and the safety of those in Iran supporting her are in danger until this is over. Her son and her lawyer have both been summoned to the ministry of justice for questioning and have been threatened with arrest. Sakineh herself has been interrogated inside the prison about who she has had contact with outside of Iran and in the media and about how her photo has been circulated around the world.

If you have not already done so please sign one or all of the many petitions online and write a letter to as many people as you can think of. Ask your local government representative to apply pressure in the right places, find and get involved with a campaign in your local area. Tell your friends and family about it and ask them to sign the petition. Consider printing a picture of Sakineh or a sign and take a photo or record a video message of support and post it online, or send it to me and I will add it to those I already have to be posted. Make a video, write a blog, draw a picture. Until it is over one way or another then I will not stop fighting for this woman's life, and for the lives of the many others that are, or in future may be, in her position. Please fight with me.

The campaign to save Sakineh and the protests held yesterday were covered by a number of online blogs and news sources including Iran Solidarity, BBC, CNN, StopStoningNow and many users via YouTube.