Frankfurt/M./Berlin - 15 August 2003. The International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) has appealed to the EU Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, Chris Patten, to take action and discuss with the Iranian President Khatami the fate of the life of 35-year old Ms Shahnaz. On 4 August the High Court of the Islamic Republic of Iran sentenced Ms Shahnaz to death by stoning for allegedly having committed adultery.

The High Court's decision breaks the existing moratorium, which through the endeavours of the European Union had been in effect since the end of 2002. This judicial decision grossly contradicts the promise made to the European Union and Chris Patten by the Iranian Minister of Justice, Ayatollah Hashemi-Shahrudi, to abolish the capital punishment of stoning in Iran. According to the Sunni religious legal code known as "sharia", adultery belongs to the category of so-called "Hadd Criminal Offences". For these types of criminal offences, Islamic law has determined very specific punishments. Hadd criminal offences are punished by stoning, crucifixion, whipping or the cutting off of a hand or foot depending on the crime. When the criminal offence is adultery, Art 83 of the Iranian penal code specifically calls for death by stoning.

In its report of 5 August, the Iranian newspaper "Etemad" writes that Ms Shahnaz and her cousin Aliasghar allegedly stabbed her husband to death. As Islamic law forbids Ms Shahnaz from divorcing her husband, she was thus prevented from any other means of dissolving her marriage. Apparently her husband's corpse was buried in a park in the town of Karaj and now, 13 years later, it was discovered. From what is known about her case, Ms Shahnaz has been sentenced to death by stoning not for murdering her husband but for her alleged sexual relationship with her cousin.

ISHR criticises the High Court's decision: This decision not only shows that Iran violates Art. 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but also Art. 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Iran did in fact ratify. This Covenant calls for the banning of such horrible, inhumane and humiliating forms of punishment. This document was created to serve as an internationally binding agreement, which Iran breaches by allowing stoning as the appropriate punishment for this woman. The Covenant was ratified by Iran on 24 June 1975 and came into effect on 23 March 1976.

Furthermore, Iran breaches the existing moratorium which has been in effect since the end of 2002, and which through the efforts of the European Union in conjunction with negotiations of an international trade agreement was agreed to by Iran. According to dpa reports from the beginning of February 2003, the Iranian Minister of Justice, Ayatollah Hashemi-Shahrudi, told EU Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, Chris Patten, that this form of punishment would be abolished. ISHR is deeply concerned that, considering Iran's current stance to allow the High Court to pass death by stoning verdict, a new wave of capital punishment application and additional stonings could take place. The human rights organisation calls upon the EU Commissioner for foreign Affairs and the Foreign Ministers of European member states to intervene, so that this form of execution is banned now and forever.