THE Iranian lawyer defending a woman sentenced to death by stoning for alleged adultery has fled to Turkey.
There he was arrested and has applied for asylum.
Back in Tehran, Mohammed Mostafaei’s wife, Fereshteh Halimi, is being held in solitary confinement in the infamous Evin prison, The Times has learned. Her brother and father were released this week.
In another ominous development, the fate of Mr Mostafaei’s client, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, was consigned on Wednesday to former prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi, who is notorious for his brutality. Ms Ashtiani’s supporters said that it was a sign that the regime was preparing to face down international outrage and execute her by hanging, if not by stoning.
Mr Mortazavi was the Tehran prosecutor-general from 2003 to 2009 and has been accused of the torture and death in custody of Zahra Kazemi, an Iranian-Canadian photographer. He was also named by Iranian parliamentarians as the man responsible for the abuse of dozens of political prisoners after last year’s disputed presidential elections.
Mr Mostafaei, a leading human rights lawyer, has embarrassed the regime by publicising the case of Ms Ashtiani, 43, who has already been imprisoned for five years and received 99 lashes for her alleged adultery.
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