The Vatican is said to be considering issuing an appeal through diplomatic channels to Iran to commute the death sentence by stoning of an Iranian woman charged with adultery.
Stating that the Church's position against death penalty was well known, and "stoning is a particularly brutal form of it," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said Sunday in a statement the Holy See was "following this affair with attention and commitment."
The statement followed an appeal from Sajad Ghaderzadeh, son of the woman, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, to Pope Benedict XVI and the Italian government, in an interview with the Italian news agency, to help save her life.
Ashtiani was awarded 99 lashes of the cane after a criminal court in East Azerbaijan province found her guilty in May 2006 of having had an "illicit relationship" with two men.
However, during the course of the trial of a man accused of murdering her husband, a separate court that September reopened the adultery case against her in what is believed to be events that allegedly took place prior to her husband's death.
Subsequently, the 43-year-old mother of two was convicted of "adultery while being married" and sentenced to death by stoning even though she retracted a confession which, she alleged, was taken under duress.
Following an international outcry over the verdict, Iranian officials temporarily halted Ashtiani's stoning sentence in July.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.