DC: Protests Outside Iranian Interests Building:
Stop the Stoning of Sakineh Ashtiani

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)

http://www.realcourage.org/2010/07/dc-protests-sakineh-ashtiani/

http://bit.ly/sakineh

On July 2, 2010, in Washington DC, outside of the Islamic Republic of
Iran's Interest Section of the Pakistan Embassy, Washington
DC area demonstrators called for the Iranian government to
stop the stoning of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtianii, a 43-year old
woman, who has been convicted of adultery in the Islamic Republic of
Iran and condemned to death by stoning.

: Iran: Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani to be Stoned for
Adultery

The DC protest demonstration, promoted
by Mission Free Iran, was led by Washington DC human rights
activist Maria Rohaly.
Demonstrators included Iranians who have moved to America, supporters of
the group Human
Rights & Secular Democracy For Iran, and supporters of the
volunteer human rights group Responsible for Equality And
Liberty (R.E.A.L.).

: July 2, 2010: Washington DC - Activists Protest
outside of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Interest Section of the
Pakistan Embassy

: Iran Human Rights Activist
Maria Rohaly Calls for Freedom for Sakineh Ashtiani and An End to
Stoning

Outside of the Islamic Republic of Iran's
Interest Section of the Pakistan Embassy, human rights activist Maria
Rohaly read a protest statement calling for ending of stoning in Iran:
"We are gathered here today in response to the plight of Sakineh
Mohammadi Ashtiani and her children." Maria Rohaly stated that her
children "have called upon the world for help to save their mother's
life. We in Washington DC tell them that we feel their pain and we know
their grief. We want them to know that they are not alone in their
sorrow and their anguish. Dear children, your letter has raised a wave
of sympathy and compassion, demonstrating that humanity is alive.
Today, we loudly declare: 1. First the stoning verdict against Sakineh
Mohammadi Ashtiani should be discarded. Execution is murder by the
state. 2. Stoning is the most savage and most merciless form of
execution and should be abolished, must be abolished in Iran and
worldwide. 3. Third, sexual relationships between adults are private
matters and no individuals, no institutions, and especially, no
government, has the right to interfere in these matters. 4. Fourth, we
strongly condemn the Islamic Republic [of Iran] for its barbaric
implementation of stoning, execution, and torture... we call upon all
international institutions as well as the United Nations and the
European Union to strongly condemn the Islamic Republic and demand that
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani's stoning verdict be overturned, as well as
verdicts of all others that [Iran] plans stoning and executions. 5. We
use this opportunity to demand immediate and unconditional release of
all political prisoners, including Behrouz
Javid Tehrani. 6. The Islamic Republic of Iran's leaders must be
prosecuted and punished in an international court on charges of stoning
and executions of tens of thousands of people. No to execution, no to
stoning, and no to murderous laws."

YouTube
Video of Maria Rohaly's Statement in Washington DC

Demonstrators protested alongside Wisconsin Avenue and alerted
motorists and pedestrians to the stoning threat to Sakineh Mohammadi
Ashtianii. Some of the protesters also marched from the Islamic
Republic of Iran's Interest Section of the Pakistan Embassy at 2209
Wisconsin Avenue, Northwest to Dupont Circle to distribute fliers to the
public on this issue and urge them to contact their governments on the
barbaric acts of stoning that have taken place, and are planned to take
place in Iran.

: July 2, 2010: Washington DC - Activists Protest
outside of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Interest Section of the
Pakistan Embassy

: July 2, 2010: Washington DC - Activists Protest
outside of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Interest Section of the
Pakistan Embassy

: July 2, 2010: Washington DC - Activists Protest
outside of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Interest Section of the
Pakistan Embassy

: July 2, 2010: Washington DC - Activists Protest
outside of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Interest Section of the
Pakistan Embassy

Additional
photographs of the Washington DC July 2 Protest are online at these
Picasa web site.

An international campaign led by Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani's
children has sought to alert the world to this and call upon the
Iranian government to quash her conviction, which was obtained after
she was lashed 99 times. Demonstrators also condemned the barbaric
practice of stoning and the inequality of women in Iran. According
to the Guardian, "Under Iranian sharia law, the sentenced
individual is buried up to the neck (or to the waist in the case of
men), and those attending the public execution are called upon to throw
stones." CNN,
Radio
Free Europe/Radio Free Liberty, the
Daily Mail, and other media have reported on this story. Mission
Free Iran, the Human
Rights & Secular Democracy For Iran group, International
Committee Against Stoning, and R.E.A.L.
have sought to publicize the campaign to stop the stoning of Sakineh
Mohammadi Ashtiani.

Mission Free Iran promoted the event with a
blog article "STOP the STONING of Sakine Mohammadi," and has also
been promoting
additional global protests in London (July 2), Toronto (July 4),
and Cologne, Germany (July 4). The Human
Rights & Secular Democracy For Iran group has held a number of
Washington DC human rights events for Iran, including a March
7 event recognizing the need for women's equality in Iran on
International Women's Day, and a February
11 event in solidarity
with women and students in support of Iranian democracy. R.E.A.L.
has tried to publicize the continuing
plight of stoning in Iran and other parts of the world, and has held multiple
awareness events on stoning corresponding to the film released last
summer, "The Stoning of Soraya M.," including a public awareness
campaign in Washington DC's Georgetown. R.E.A.L. supporters have
also tried to have home gatherings to watch
the DVD release of that film in March 2010.

=============================

Mission Free Iran Published Statement for Washington DC Event

Friday July 2 at 6pm in front of the Islamic Republic's Interests
Section of the Pakistani Embassy (2209 Wisconsin Ave NW, Wash DC).

The children of Sakine Mohammadi Ashtiani have reached out to the
world with a heart-rending appeal: Protest against our mother’s stoning!

Mission Free Iran is organizing Washington DC's participation in the
global protest to respond to the appeal of Sakine's children and demand
a stop to the barbaric execution of Sakine by stoning.

We will meet in front of the Islamic Republic’s Interests Section of
the Pakistani Embassy at 6pm on Friday, July 2, 2010 to tell the
Islamic Republic that we will not stay silent while one more woman is
stoned to death in Iran. We will later walk to DuPont Circle and raise
awareness of Sakine’s situation in the community.

Please feel free to bring your own signs with messages protesting the
barbaric and criminal stoning act that the Islamic Republic has
planned for our sister, Sakine Mohammadi Ashtiani.

* We will demand freedom for Sakine.

* We will demand an end to stoning, and to all executions in Iran.

* We will demand removal of the Islamic Republic from the UN Commission
on the Status of Women.

* We will demand that the Islamic Republic be put on trial in
international court for its crimes against humanity.

There will be an open mike so that anyone who wishes to speak may
express themselves.

"He said his mother was an outspoken critic of the regime and
especially Khomeini from day one. She was a teacher and had spoken
against the regime and authorities at work. “One day when we were all
having lunch, they stormed in and took my mother with them … it all
happened so quickly. It didn’t even take two weeks when, one day, they
announced in the town 'come and witness a women being stoned.' That
woman was my mother."

He said that with fear and in a state of shock, he went and from a
distance witnessed his mother being stoned to death... he believes
though that his mother was still alive when buried. This man has sent me
his indictment against the savage thuggery of this anti-human, fascist
regime, to be introduced to an international court.”

– Rescue Sakine Mohammadi Ashtiani, Prosecute Leaders of the Islamic
Republic! by Mina Ahadi

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