AFP, Paris, July 9, 2010 – French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Friday he was ’outraged’ by reports of an Iranian woman who is facing execution by stoning for adultery and called on Tehran to show clemency.
’Everything about the case of MrsSakinehMohammadi-Ashtiani offends the universal conscience,’ said Kouchner in a statement.
’I urge Iranian officials to hear the appeals coming from Iran and from the world so that the humanity can overcome,’ he said.
The 43-year-old Kurdish woman faces an execution by stoning which may be imminent, according to Amnesty International. The human rights group said she was already given 99 lashes for adultery.
The United States, Britain and the European Union have also spoken out against the sentence and urged Tehran to stop the execution.
