Iran has said Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani (43) will be spared being stoned to death for adultery while leaving it unclear what fate does await her.
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Woman in Iran escapes death by stoning
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Iran has said Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani (43) will be spared being stoned to death for adultery while leaving it unclear what fate does await her.
The mother of two was arrested in 2005 and subsequently convicted of having an illicit relationship for which she was given 99 lashes witnessed by her son, then in his late teens.
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Her case was then reopened and she was convicted of adultery during her marriage, for which she was given the sentence of death by stoning.
Human rights campaigners say Iran has one of the highest rates of executions in the world.
The case has sparked an international outcry. Amnesty International says that at least eight people were stoned to death in 1986.
The brief statement from the Iranian embassy in London announcing that Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani would not be executed by stoning said that "this kind of punishment has rarely been implemented" in Iran.
The suggestion particularly from her lawyer that Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani appeared to be on the verge of being stoned to death saw Iran accused internationally this week of allowing a 'medieval' practice which has no place in the modern world.
It produced a response from the Iranian authorities indicating they did not relish a confrontation on this issue, even if the next steps are not yet clear.
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