Iran Calls French First Lady 'Prostitute' Over Stoning Issue

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Iranian state media branded French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy a "prostitute" for her public support of an Iranian woman sentenced to death for adultery -- and activists worry the convicted woman may still be stoned.

The attack on the wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy shows the Iranian government's continued "defiance" of international pressure on the issue, activists said today.

The government-controlled newspaper Kayhan denounced Bruni-Sarkozy and actress Isabelle Adjani in an editorial headlined "French Prostitutes Join Human Rights Protest." The piece called Bruni-Sarkozy a "hypocrite" and detailed the former supermodel's colorful past love life with several celebrities.

The editorial, followed by an Iranian state television report that labeled Bruni-Sarkozy "immoral," appeared after protests on behalf of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani in 100 cities Saturday and following Bruni-Sarkozy's open letter to the condemned woman last week.

"Why shed your blood and deprive your children of their mother?" Bruni-Sarkozy wrote. "Because you have lived, because you have loved, because you're a woman, and because you're an Iranian? Everything within me refuses to accept this."

Ashtiani, a 43-year-old mother of two, has been the subject of an international uproar after she was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery and complicity in her husband's murder. She is still under a death sentence, although the government -- after considerable pressure from around the world -- has said it will not stone her. The execution has been stayed pending a judicial review that her attorneys and advocates say could be unpredictable.

"We don't take them at their word," Maria Rohaly of Mission Free Iran told AOL News today. "The Islamic government said she was not going to be stoned, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything."

Rohaly said Iranian officials told Ashtiani to write her will on Saturday night. She reportedly cried all night after being told she would be executed at dawn on Sunday, Rohaly said. Although all indications are Ashtiani is still alive, Rohaly says it's proof that the government can't be trusted.

Rohaly said Ashtiani's situation grows more precarious every day. Her son, who called into the Washington protests on Saturday from Iran, has said his mother appeared to be under the influence of a drug when he and his sister visited her about 10 days ago.
Iranian 43-year old mother of two Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani is seen in this undated handout image.
AFP / Getty Images
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a 43-year-old mother of two, was sentenced to death by stoning in Iran. The execution has been stayed pending a judicial review.

Last week, Ashtiani's two children were not allowed to visit her. One of her attorneys is on the run in Norway. Her lawyer in Iran, Javid Houtan Kian, says he also feels threatened. He said the government has ransacked his home, has confiscated important documents and is monitoring his cell phone calls.

"I would be lying to say I wasn't scared for myself," Kian told the Times of London.

Kian said he has no way of guessing the outcome of the judicial review but added, "I feel it is my duty as a lawyer" to defend Ashtiani.

"It's very upsetting," Rohaly said. "With a lot of high-profile execution cases, they will cut off all communication and telephones."

She said the Islamic government in Iran is in a "Catch-22 situation."

"Pressure is growing, and they don't know what to do," Rohaly said. "The Iranian people don't like the government, and they'd get rid of it in a day if they could. The government needs to execute people to instill fear and to stay in power. But if they kill Ashtiani, they will have major problems in the international community."

Ashtiani was convicted in 2006 of having an "illicit relationship" with two men in 2006 and flogged 99 times in front of her son, among others. Later that year she was convicted of adultery and sentenced to death by stoning.

Early this month she appeared on TV in what was billed as a "confession" for unwittingly playing a part in the 2005 killing of her husband.

Classy, real classy. The good news is that the execution has been stayed. For now. If we can believe them.