Open Letter from Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s Son

In an open letter to human rights activists Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s son Sajjad Ghaderzadeh asserted that his father’s murder files were missing and expressed concern about the possibility of a setup through which evidence had been planted and files were altered. Sakineh received international attention recently because of her stoning sentence that was on the verge of execution.

He provided the letter to Rooz for publication, and asked, “Why do they extract false confessions from my mother by force and broadcast them? Why have they prevented my mother from seeing her attorney or us since then? Is it not because signs of torture are still visible on her body and they do not want any witnesses? Are they delaying visitations until the signs are healed? Why do they plant false evidence against my mother? Why do they open a case that was previously closed? Why have my father’s murder files gone missing? Why do they not allow my mother’s case to proceed normally like any another case?”

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani is 45 years old woman and has been behind bars in a Tabriz prison since 2006.

Initially after her first trial she was sentenced to 90 lashes by a criminal court in the city of Osku for adultery. But after the punishment was carried out, another court in the Azerbaijan Sharghi province reopened the case of Mrs Mohammadi’s husband’s murder case and sentenced Sakineh Mohammadi to stoning for adultery. This sentence has been suspended due to wide international protests. Today, despite the suspension, her fate remains unknown and precarious.

Following is the full text of Sajjad Ghaderzadeh’s open letter, addressed to “human rights defenders across the universe”:

I, Sajjad Ghaderzadeh, am at awe about judiciary officials. Because he participated in a lawful interview, the defense attorney who represented us in the past (Mr. Mohammad Mostafaei), has been forced to flee the country, and leave his home and property behind, in order to protect his own life. Now, Mr. Houtan Kian is under the most extreme police and psychological pressure, and subjected to the harshest threats and summons for revealing unlawful elements related to our mother’s case.

Why do they extract false confessions from my mother by force and broadcast them? Why have they prevented my mother from seeing her attorney or us since then? Is it not because signs of torture are still visible on her body and they do not want any witnesses? Have they delayed visitations until the signs are healed? Why do they plant false evidence against my mother? Why do they open a case that was previously closed? Why have my father’s murder files gone missing? Why do they not allow my mother’s case to proceed normally like any another case? We are truly disappointed that we were born in the Islamic Republic; and that we were abandoned by our own family after the sham show on the Islamic Republic’s television; and that we are forced to tolerate this life of humiliation. Life killed us¾death, where are you?

Sajjad Ghaderzadeh