IRAN SENTENCES MAN TO EXECUTION, WOMAN TO FLOGGING AND JAIL

September 6, 2005: a court in Iran sentenced a woman to 100 lashes and 15 years jail time and an Afghan man to execution on charges of murder, Persian-language websites reported.
The woman, identified by her first name Soqra, was accused of aiding the Afghan man in the murder of her husband, also from Afghanistan. Soqra maintained her innocence throughout the trial, according to the report.
Soqra had said that her parents had forced her to marry an Afghan man against her will. The pair had two children and Soqra said that her husband beat her repeatedly.
The Afghan man, identified as Alireza, was found guilty of stabbing to death Soqra’s husband. The two ran away from Tehran to the central city of Isfahan after the murder, but were arrested a few days later.
A Tehran court sentenced Alireza to death for the murder and to 100 lashes for adultery, while Soqra will be flogged 100 times and will have to spend 15 years behind bars.  (Sources: Iranfocus, 06/09/2005)