New York, July 09: Celebrities have condemned Iran over its plans to execute a woman by stoning.
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, 43, has already spent five years in prison and received 99 lashes for her alleged adultery.
She now faces death in what campaigners call an “appalling and barbaric” way.
Actors Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Robert Redford and Juliette Binoche have signed up to a campaign calling for her release.
Iran is also facing pressure from Western governments, including Britain, which has said the woman’s death would “disgust and appal the watching world”.
Her son has said there is “no justice” in Iran.
Sajad Ghadarzade, 22, risked his own liberty by sending a letter to human rights campaigners in which he rejected the adultery charges against his mother.
He also said his repeated attempts to petition Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranian Supreme Leader, have been rebuffed.
Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt called stoning “a medieval punishment that has no place in the modern world”.
He said its continued use by the Iranian regime “demonstrates a blatant disregard for international human rights commitments”.
–Agencies