July 5, 2007

Jafar Kiani was stoned to death in Agche-kand, a small village near Takistan, Ghazvin in Iran on July 5, 2007. Kiani and his partner, Mokarrameh Ebrahimi, had been in prison for more than 11 years for alleged adultery and have two children together. The couple’s children live in prison with their mother. Mr. Eslahi, the judge who issued the stoning sentence, believed that the couple’s marriage had not been legitimate based on his own “gut-instinct” of the case instead of hard evidence or confession. The stoning was reportedly carried out by mostly officials and service men, and few villagers participated.

For more information on Jafar Kiani’s stoning and the campaign to save his partner Mokarrameh Ebrahimi, see