Shamemeh Malak Ghorbany (also known as Malak or Malek) is an
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
ian woman, and mother of two, who was sentenced to
death by stoningStoning, or lapidation, refers to a form of capital punishment. For the method of metalworking using sharpening stones see stoning ....
for allegedly having committed
adulteryAdultery is referred to as extramarital sex, philandery, or infidelity, but does not include fornication. The term "adultery" for many people carries a moral or religious association, while the term "extramarital sex" is morally or judgmentally neutral....
.
Her brothers and husband had murdered a man they found in her house, and she too was nearly killed when they stabbed her. The men were convicted of deserved or ‘legitimate’ murder and received a sentence of six years’ imprisonment.
Shamemeh Malak Ghorbany (also known as Malak or Malek) is an
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
ian woman, and mother of two, who was sentenced to
death by stoningStoning, or lapidation, refers to a form of capital punishment. For the method of metalworking using sharpening stones see stoning ....
for allegedly having committed
adulteryAdultery is referred to as extramarital sex, philandery, or infidelity, but does not include fornication. The term "adultery" for many people carries a moral or religious association, while the term "extramarital sex" is morally or judgmentally neutral....
.
Her brothers and husband had murdered a man they found in her house, and she too was nearly killed when they stabbed her. The men were convicted of deserved or ‘legitimate’ murder and received a sentence of six years’ imprisonment. In a letter to the court submitted by her lawyer during her first trial, Ghorbany is quoted as saying, “Since I am a rural, illiterate woman and I didn’t know the law, I thought that if I confessed to a relationship with the dead man, I could clear my brothers and husband of intentional murder. I said these untrue words in court and then understood I had done myself an injury.”
On June 28, 2006, a court in the northwestern Iranian city of
UrmiaUrmia or Orumieh , is a city in Northwestern Iran and the capital of West Azerbaijan Province. The city lies on an altitude of 1,330 m above sea level on the Shahar Chaye river...
sentenced Malak Ghorbany to death by
stoningStoning, or lapidation, refers to a form of capital punishment. For the method of metalworking using sharpening stones see stoning ....
for committing adultery. Under Iran's Penal Code, adultery committed by a married person carries the death penalty.
Ghorbany's case gained international attention when noted international human rights lawyer and activist.
Lily MazaheryLily Mazahery is an Iranian-American lawyer, feminist, human rights defender, and social and political activist. A member of Tankel Law firm and the founder and president of the Legal Rights Institute, Mazahery represents some of the most high profile political dissidents, human rights activists...
, launched a global campaign in support of her. In July 2006, various European and Asian rights organizations participated in coordinated demonstrations held outside Iran's embassies and consulate offices in different cities. In a number of public statements, the protesting organizations condemned stoning executions as a crime against humanity, demanded immediate and unconditional clemency for Malak Ghorbany, and called upon the Iranian regime to permanently ban stoning sentences.
According to an
Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International is an international secular non-governmental organisation which defines its mission as "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated." Founded in London in 1961, AI...
report: "In November 2006, [Iran's] Supreme Court ruled that the trial verdict was based on insufficient or incomplete evidence, and overturned the sentence of execution by stoning. The case was returned to a lower court for a retrial. In late July or August 2008, the court ruled that Shamemeh Ghorbani should not be stoned to death, but instead she received a sentence of 100 lashes. She was released from prison in Oroumiye, western Iran, where she had been held since 2005, but her sentence may still be implemented."
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