A woman convicted of adultery has been spared execution by stoning after Iran backed down in the face of rising international outrage.
A statement issued by the Iranian embassy in London said that ‘according to information from the relevant judicial authorities in Iran [Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani] will not be executed by stoning’.
But it did not say whether Ms Ashtiani, a mother-of-two, would be spared or executed by hanging instead.
Mohammed Mostafaei, the 43-year-old’s lawyer, told The Times: ‘This is a positive development but nothing is clear yet.
‘There have been cases in Iran of stonings being changed to hangings.