Wife of stoning lawyer released
10 August 2010
Fereshteh Halimi, the wife of human rights lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei, was released on 7 August. Her brother and father, both of whom had been arrested, had been released by 3 August. They were arrested to pressure Mohammad Mostafaei to turn himself in; he has now left Iran for Norway.
Fereshteh Halimi had been arrested on 24 July, together with her brother, Farhad Halimi, and they are thought to have been held in Tehran's Evin Prison. None have been charged. The Iranian authorities were putting pressure on Mohammad Mostafaei in response to his high profile legal work on behalf of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who was facing a sentence of being stoned to death at the start of the month.
Judicial officials questioned Mohammad Mostafaei on 24 July, at Evin Prison, about his legal activities. As he left the prison, he was told that judicial officials had visited his office and house to arrest him. Having returned to his office, he learned of the arrest of his wife and brother-in-law and went into hiding in Iran.
By 4 August it had emerged that he had travelled to Turkey and had sought asylum with the UNHCR. He was held for several days at an Istanbul detention centre for irregular migrants, but was then able to travel to Norway. His wife and daughter are expected to join him eventually in Norway.
Thank you so much to everyone who took action in support of Fereshteh, but Sakineh Ashtiani remains at risk of being executed.
