IRAN SUSPENDS DEATH BY STONING

Iran suspended the punishment of death by stoning, state media announced. A judiciary spokesman said four people sentenced to die by stoning had their sentences commuted and that all other cases have been put under review. Lawyers and human rights campaigners said at least eight women and a man are awaiting the punishment. Stoning is the penalty for crimes such as adultery under Iranian law, but it is rarely carried out. The last such execution was reportedly in 2007. Amnesty also said a disproportionate number of those sentenced to death by stoning were women because they were not treated equally before the law and were particularly vulnerable to unfair trials. Three people are said to have been stoned for adultery since a moratorium was called in 2002 by the judiciary chief, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi. The issued verdicts for all of these cases will not be carried out for now. Authorities are reportedly reluctant to completely abolish a penalty they say is endorsed by Islamic law. An Iranian judiciary spokesman said the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, commuted the sentences of two people to 10 years in jail. Two others would receive lashes, he said. "In a few other cases, these people have asked for forgiveness and their request... is under review," he added.