Iran resumes death by stoning

an unnamed Iranian woman, 35, was buried in a pit and pelted with stones until she died in the centre of Tehran´s Evin prison, where she has been held for the last eight years. She was convicted of taking part in a sex film.

Investigators had tracked her down after they noticed the serial number of an electricity meter that was in the background of a scene in one of her films. She denied being the woman on screen but police found several witnesses who testified she was indeed the X-rated actress.

The woman was sentenced to death after being convicted of adultery and "corruption on earth," a verdict which was upheld by the Supreme Court.

The conservative Entekhab daily, which gave the news on Monday, did not say when the execution occurred.

Another unnamed Iranian woman, a 38-year-old, is to be stoned to death under Iran´s Islamic law for murdering her husband, the Hambastegi daily reported on May 16.

An accomplice, a 24-year-old man, will be hanged for the killing of the woman´s 42-year-old husband, who was stabbed to death and buried alongside a cow´s skull in a fruit garden outside Karaj, a town close to the capital Tehran.

The newspaper did not say when the sentences would be carried out, but public executions normally take place where the crime occurred.

Stoning is relatively rare in Iran, and even rarer in Tehran. The last time two Iranians were stoned to death was for adultery in June 1996.

News of the stoning of the actress Monday, coming eight years after her conviction and just three weeks before the presidential election, raised speculation in the foreign press. The execution could have a negative impact on public opinion in the run-up to the election, which reformist president Mohammad Khatami will again be contesting.

Death by stoning is the punishment for adultery and corruption on earth under Iran´s Islamic Sharia law. Men who are stoned to death are first buried waist-deep in the ground. If they manage to escape, they can go free. Women are buried deeper to stop stones hitting their breasts.