The children of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the Iranian woman who was condemned to death by stoning – later commuted to hanging - for adultery and the alleged murder of her husband, have asked Italy for asylum.
Sakineh’s son Sajjid Ghaderzadeh and his sister Sahideh, who have always supported their mother, say that they feel they are in constant danger of arrest and that they have been threatened by Iranian intelligence agents.
The case, which caused an outcry throughout the world, has been closely followed in Italy and Italians have been very active in campaigning for Sakineh. In view of this, Sajjid and Sahideh have turned to the Italian government first to ask for help for themselves, appealing directly to Mr Berlusconi. They have also appealed to Pope Benedict, who is said to be monitoring the case, for help.
The Italian Foreign Ministry has said that its ministers will discuss the request with their EU partners but Minister of the Interior Roberto Maroni has refused to comment.
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