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Iran suspended the stoning sentence for a woman convicted of adultery amid mounting international pressure, including the European Parliament's 658-1 resolution against such punishment.

Caving in to growing international criticism, Iran on Wednesday suspended a woman's death-by-stoning sentence.

European leaders and Western activists had sought to prevent the execution of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, convicted of adultery, in a mounting war of words with Iranian hard-liners – including one who called French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy a “prostitute” who deserved to be killed after she advocated on the woman's behalf.