Iran

UPDATED 20/09/2010: An Iranian court has now jailed Shiva Nazar Ahari for six years after convicting her of "moharebeh" or "emnity with God" - usually punishable by death. 

The Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) international solidarity network and the Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning Women (SKSW campaign) welcome the news that Shiva Nazar Ahari was released from prison on Sunday 12 September 2010. Shiva Nazar Ahari is a 26-year-old human rights activist specializing in women’s rights, children’s rights, and the defense of political prisoners. She is a journalist and blogger, as well as actively involved with the Committee of Human Rights Reporters and the One Million Signatures Campaign. Formerly a civil engineering graduate student, Ahari was expelled from university as a result of her student activism. She had endured 266 consecutive days in Evin Prison, 100 of which were spent in solitary confinement, for participating in non-violent actions.

Shiva Nazar Ahari, women's and children’s rights activist and a head member of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters, was released today on a $500 thousand (USD) bail after enduring 266 days in prison. Her official sentence has not yet been announced.

Nazar Ahari was arrested on December 20, 2009 at Enghelab Square along with numerous other activists including Kouhyar Goodarzi, another founding member of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters. They were on their way to the city of Qom to attend the funeral of Ayatollah Montazeri.

The last trial for Shiva Nazar Ahari took place on September 4th for the charges of “moharebeh” (enmity with God), “assembly and collusion to commit a crime”, “propaganda against the regime,” and “disrupting the public order”. The trial took place in branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court with presiding judge Pir-Abassi. Worldwide protests were also launched calling for the freedom of Shiva Nazar Ahari.

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning, was told on Saturday that she was to be hanged at dawn on Sunday, but the sentence was not carried out, it emerged tonight. Mohammadi Ashtiani wrote her will and embraced her cellmates in Tabriz prison just before the call to morning prayer, when she expected to be led to the gallows, her son Sajad told the Guardian. "Pressure from the international community has so far stopped them from carrying out the sentence but they're killing her every day by any means possible," he said.

The controversial Family Protection bill was dealt a blow at the Islamic parliament today as one of its articles outlining legal registration of "temporary marriages" was voted down. ILNA reports that Article 21 of the new bill failed to pass through the parliament with only 45 votes in favour of it. The article was one of the points women’s rights activists objected to in the so-called Family Protection bill.