Death by Stoning

Ofcom has ruled that Iran's state-run Press TV station, which has offices in London, did not breach the UK's broadcasting rules in transmitting a programme that showed an Iranian woman participating in the reconstruction of her alleged part in the murder of her husband.

In response to a complaint made by the Iranian human rights campaigner Fazel Hawramy, who asked whether it was ethical for Press TV to make the imprisoned son play his murdered father, Ofcom said in a letter, seen by the Guardian, that the broadcaster had not breached its code.

Given the broadcaster's assurances that both Sakineh Ashtiani and her son willingly participated in this programme, we considered that the context was not materially misleading so as to cause harm and offence, Adam Baxter, standards executive of the media regulator, wrote to Hawramy.

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A 28-year-old Pennsylvania man has been charged with murder after telling police he stoned to death a 70-year-old man after the senior citizen allegedly made unwanted sexual advances toward him.

John Joe Thomas told police he beat Murray Seidman using a sock that was stuffed with rocks because he read in the Old Testament that homosexuals should be stoned to death. The elderly man was hit in the head about 10 times, police said.

The relationship between the two is not known, but police said Thomas was the sole beneficiary of Seidman's will.

Thomas said he received a message in his prayers that he must kill Seidman.

And indeed The Bible does seems to back up Thomas and his resort to violence:

"If a man lies with a male as with a women, both of them shall be put to death for their abominable deed; they have forfeited their lives."   (Leviticus 20:13 New American Bible)

Maryam Namazie and Mina Ahadi, have had their pages on Facebook disabled.

Both were campaigning to save Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani from being stoned to death in Iran.

Maryam and Mina have asked for support in their campaign to get their Facebook pages reinstated.

ICAS' Abbas Goya has started a campaign on Facebook itself.

Update: One Restored, One to Go

22nd September 2010. From Maryam Namazie

By the way, Facebook had disabled Mina and my accounts recently right before the 18 September day of action for Sakineh and against stoning. After many letters of protest from supporters, and an open letter to Facebook founders by a number of well-known personalities, my account has been enabled again, though Mina's has not. Please keep writing to Facebook until they enable her account as well.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards, have struck again, arresting 12 couples for illicit sexual acts after it was found that they had been swinging.

The moral police came across Iran Multiplied, a website that features a number of couples involved in swinging, multiple partnered sex, and other acts considered illicit and illegal in the region.

Most are faculty at local universities, such as professors, and others work for the government. Many have children.

If found guilty, all 24 people face death by stoning for adultery.