Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil, has made an official request to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to allow Sakineh Mohamaddi Ashtiani, a woman who has been sentenced to death by stoning, to receive asylum in Brazil.
Ashtiani was sentenced after being convicted of adultery, an Iranian crime she denies ever having committed. In 2006, Ashtiani was found guilty of having an “illicit relationship” with two men. After being inflicted with ninety-nine lashes, Ashtiani confessed to the crime, which her layer has declared a product of painful coercion. Ashtiani recanted the confession in 2007, but the Iran Supreme Court remains steadfast in its decision for execution.
However, after publicized protest among international human rights groups such as Amnesty International gave increased exposure to the sadistic execution earlier this month, Iran has rescinded the method. Death by hanging remains imminent.
The most appalling aspect of the conviction is that it was implemented on the basis of “knowledge of the judge”. This convenient Iranian legal practice permits a judge to make a decision on a case without conclusive evidence.
The survival of Iran’s misogynistic justice system is something the world should be gravely ashamed of. The fact that it has gone unaddressed by the US, which is currently wallowing in two wars for “freedom”, is a testament to the sheer neglect that plagues the Iranian people, and in particular its women. The Iranian leaders who commit these shameless acts of oppression thrive on the fact that they are invisible to US eyes. Ahem, ignored by US eyes.
But as long as we’re selling them weapons, what do we care? Why should we be unsettled by the fact that a 27 year-old mother of two kids is being stoned to death for adultery? Hey, the Taliban is killing people too.
Last time I checked, when the Taliban decides to kill people as an act of terrorism, they don’t do it with stones. At least bombs and guns give victims the chance for a quick, painless deaths. While the Taliban might be cutting off noses and ears (as the latest cover of Time touts), the Iranian government wants to bash in brains and bones. If Time believes it is our duty to remain in Afghanistan for the sake of its violently oppressed women, why is it not then our duty to help the women who are being violently oppressed across the border? Our selective awareness for those who need our help only exposes the insidious falsehood of our intentions.
It is very ironic that Brazil should be the country to step into the situation. The US has long suspected Iran’s Uranium Enrichment to be the guise for a nuclear weapons program, and therefore Brazil’s support for the program an attempt at getting privy on the power. So now we have to something to ask ourselves: why would Brazil care to compromise its relationship with Iran—in a humanitarian effort, no less—if that very relationship only exists to gain them access to weapons of mass destruction? That’s a pretty hypocritical slap on the wrist from a country looking to bring about the world’s demise.
Iran has denied the accusations, stating that the program is only an attempt at increasing the people’s electricity supply. Perhaps you could feel safe arguing against that defense if you completely ignore all of its supporting evidence. Iran’s per capita energy consumption is fifteen times the amount of Japan’s, and ten times the amount of the entire European Union. Iran’s energy intensity is three times the global average, which makes the cost of its conversion into the GDP astronomical. By 2012, its need for energy will increase by 26.8 percent. Are Iran’s purported efforts in this Uranium Enrichment program unprecedented in their behavior? Not remotely. Since 2004, Iran has built an array of hydroelectric stations, dams, and both wind-powered and geothermal plants.
But if innocent people like Ashtiani are being killed in Iran, and we believe their government is building nuclear bombs, why aren’t we there instead of Afghanistan?
The answer is simple.
Iran holds the world’s third largest oil reserves, and the world’s second largest natural gas reserves.
Gotta pick your battles…
…but only after you pick your friends.
And this one’s got a pool in his backyard.
-Little Brother, Big Mouth-
Sorry, Ashtiani. If the stones had flown, we never would’ve seen them.
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