On September 4^th, 2010 Nasrin Sotoudeh was arrested and charged with "propaganda against the state" and "conspiracy to disturb order" by Iranian officials and taken to Evin prison. These vaguely worded charges are among several articles in the Islamic Penal Code in Iran relating to “national security” that criminalize the peaceful exercise of rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly. Such provisions have previously been exercised to prosecute lawyers for statements they had made or and activities they had conducted in defence of their clients.

The International Solidarity Network, Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) is deeply shocked that a court in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan, has sentenced a 45-year-old Christian woman, Asia Bibi, to death on the charge of having committed “blasphemy”. Although illiterate, she has been accused of denying the institution of prophet-hood by citing copious examples from the key texts of Islam. We join local human rights organizations, international women’s groups and religious minorities in calling for Pakistan to urgently repeal its Blasphemy Laws. We also appeal to the authorities to guarantee the safety of Asia Bibi and her family from the rage of local extremists, as well as investigate the violent persecution of the Christian community in the Punjab.

The Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning Women (SKSW) and Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) are deeply concerned over the continued denial of human rights in Iran in light of the Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani case. Lack of due process and the right to a fair trial, arbitrary detention, torture, and restrictions of freedom of information, of the press, and of association sadly constitute the status quo in the Islamic Republic.

The Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning Women! (SKSW) and the International Solidarity Network, Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) are outraged by the caning of two women in Aceh for selling cooked rice during Ramadan.