Iranian Woman Saved From Stoning Death

An Iranian woman who was sentenced to death in 2006 for adultery was released from prison on Tuesday, sparing her a stoning.

The head of Iran’s human rights council told local media that Sakineh Mohammedi Ashtiani was “granted leave,” the Telegraph reports. The sentence was not formally dropped, and her punishment was instead set to a 10-year prison sentence after an agreement was reached with the husband’s family.

She was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery and playing a part in the killing of her husband in 2006. Her two sons began a campaign against the verdict, sparking worldwide condemnation leading to vigils in cities, pressure from the European Union to overturn the sentence, and arguments between human rights activists and Iran. Ashtiani reportedly tried to kill herself in February 2014.

Mohammed Javad Larijani, the head of Iran’s human rights council, acknowledged there was “a lot of noise on this case because of the international scene” but attacked what he saw as “outside interference.”

[Telegraph]