guardian.co.uk
If the Iranian authorities believe that merely switching a death sentence from stoning to hanging for a crime like adultery amounts to any real improvement they are totally misguided (Ashtiani outrage spurs Iran to commute stoning sentences to hanging, 13 August). No one should even be criminalised for their sex life, let alone sentenced to death (by whatever method). All this means is that some 11 people in Iran currently facing the horror of being stoned to death could now face hanging. Indeed, at least 388 people were killed this way last year in Iran, meaning the country is second only to China in its massive use of capital punishment.
The Iranian authorities are wrong if they believe the recent spectacle of an apparent "confession" from Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani on Iranian state television has convinced people of the justice of her case, or many like hers. They are also wrong if they think it will deflect attention from her plight. We will continue to call for Ashtiani's life to be spared and for the Iranian authorities to impose a moratorium on stoning and all other forms of execution. Readers can support this campaign at www.amnesty.org.uk/deathpenalty
Tim Hancock
Campaigns director, Amnesty International UK
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