Stoning is to be abolished in Iran as a form of capital...

Stoning is to be abolished in Iran as a form of capital punishment, according to official assurances given to a European Union human rights delegation to Tehran.Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, head of the judiciary, issued an internal directive to judges instructing them to use prison terms and other forms of punishment for the crime of adultery, the EU mission was told by Iranian officials.But the issue is so sensitive, involving differing interpretations of Islamic Sharia law, complicated by factional politics, that the government appears reluctant to make the directive public, fearing a backlash by fundamentalist judges. "This is very good news if the directive is implemented," commented one European diplomat. Embassies said they hoped to see a copy of the ayatollah's instructions. The EU and Iran started negotiating a trade and co-operation agreement in Brussels on December 12, but the EU says it expects such a deepening of their relationship to be matched by progress in other areas, such as human rights.The issue of stoning is high on the EU agenda. However, diplomats said Iran's decision to end the practice should also be seen in the context of a trend by mainstream modernists in the judiciary to reform laws and punishments.Stoning is rarely carried out in Iran and usually for crimes that go beyond adultery. Officials confirmed two cases in 2001 - of a woman who made and distributed a pornographic movie, and another who killed her husband with the help of her lover.Lawyers speculated that fundamentalist judges ordered the executions, believed to be the first for several years, in response to what they perceived to be a moral breakdown in society caused by the reformist policies of President Mohammad Khatami.