...Well, the women, at any rate. And I’m only using humour here because if I were to say exactly what I’m feeling at the moment, this blog would be reduced to nothing but an incoherent torrent of ranty swearing. Today, Iranian state television (well, lets be honest – there isn’t any other kind in Iran) broadcast an alleged ‘confession’ by a woman they have sentenced to death by stoning. She was originally ‘convicted’ – I use the term loosely – of adultery, but when the rest of the world said, “er, hold on a second there, old chap,” they decided that she had also been involved in the murder of her husband. The ‘confession’ – again, I use the term incredibly loosely – barely mentioned the adultery charge, focussing instead on the murder; clearly the powers-that-be in Iran have decided that people would be much more likely to let them get on with their execution if it was for something as heinous as murder – after all, doesn’t the United States do exactly the same thing? And so, with her face all but pixellated out, the woman appeared on television and admitted to being involved in the death of her late husband.
Now let’s just think about this for a teeny, tiny second. This is a woman who has been held in an Iranian prison (hardly an experience to delight the soul) and who, according to her former lawyer, who has had to escape to Denmark in fear of his own life, has been tortured severely throughout her ordeal. And now she ‘confesses’ to being involved in a murder plot? Funny that, I think I’d confess as well…and what does the rest of the world do? Absolutely sod all, except go on the telly and bleat about how ‘barbaric’ it is. Yes, that’s marvellous. Well done.
It sickens me, it absolutely sickens me, that in this day and age we can allow not only state-sanctioned murder (for what is any death penalty but that?) but state-sanctioned murder of such primitive and barbaric cruelty. Thank the Gods, no footage of a stoning has ever been released, although should you wish to see how the charming state of Iran used to carry out its public hangings, you can see plenty of footage of that, but there have been pictures and footage released of the aftermath. That was gruesome enough – the ground covered in blood and the spattered rocks – so I would imagine that the actual event would be completely horrendous…it really doesn’t bear thinking about. And this poor woman, who has two children and is probably guilty of nothing more than finding a new man after her husband died (because the whole ‘murder’ thing strangely only seems to have come to light after the outcry about her being stoned for adultery) has more than likely be beaten and threatened and tortured by the authorities in order to get her to produce this ‘confession’. I can only hope that the people who have the power to intervene in such situations get moving and do whatever they can to help this poor woman, and all the others like her who have ‘disappeared’ into the depths of an Iranian prison on the most spurious of charges and been tortured by that country’s regime. It’s too late for the many people who have already died, but there might still be a chance to save the others. Don’t forget them. David Cameron, Barack Obama and everyone else who has the power – do NOT forget them…
**NOTE: This was also written on the 12th**
Now let’s just think about this for a teeny, tiny second. This is a woman who has been held in an Iranian prison (hardly an experience to delight the soul) and who, according to her former lawyer, who has had to escape to Denmark in fear of his own life, has been tortured severely throughout her ordeal. And now she ‘confesses’ to being involved in a murder plot? Funny that, I think I’d confess as well…and what does the rest of the world do? Absolutely sod all, except go on the telly and bleat about how ‘barbaric’ it is. Yes, that’s marvellous. Well done.
It sickens me, it absolutely sickens me, that in this day and age we can allow not only state-sanctioned murder (for what is any death penalty but that?) but state-sanctioned murder of such primitive and barbaric cruelty. Thank the Gods, no footage of a stoning has ever been released, although should you wish to see how the charming state of Iran used to carry out its public hangings, you can see plenty of footage of that, but there have been pictures and footage released of the aftermath. That was gruesome enough – the ground covered in blood and the spattered rocks – so I would imagine that the actual event would be completely horrendous…it really doesn’t bear thinking about. And this poor woman, who has two children and is probably guilty of nothing more than finding a new man after her husband died (because the whole ‘murder’ thing strangely only seems to have come to light after the outcry about her being stoned for adultery) has more than likely be beaten and threatened and tortured by the authorities in order to get her to produce this ‘confession’. I can only hope that the people who have the power to intervene in such situations get moving and do whatever they can to help this poor woman, and all the others like her who have ‘disappeared’ into the depths of an Iranian prison on the most spurious of charges and been tortured by that country’s regime. It’s too late for the many people who have already died, but there might still be a chance to save the others. Don’t forget them. David Cameron, Barack Obama and everyone else who has the power – do NOT forget them…
**NOTE: This was also written on the 12th**
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