Children of Sakineh Ashtiani Request Asylum in Italy

Persian report by Iran Press News | October 5, 2010
Edited by Persian2English
UPI.com: Rome, Italy — The children of an Iranian woman condemned to death for adultery requested political asylum in Italy due to their fear of being arrested in Iran, officials said.
Sajjad Ghaderzadeh, the son of Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, told ANSA on Tuesday that he and his sister, Saeideh, received telephone calls from people saying they were “intelligence agents who threatened us.”
“Once I was called to their office but I didn’t go,” Ghaderzadeh said, “but there is a chance of us getting arrested at any moment.”
The Italian Foreign Ministry said the request and its reason would be “examined through contacts with various European Union partners in Tehran.”
Ghaderzadeh, saying his lawyer was also threatened, told ANSA he and his sister had appealed to Pope Benedict XVI to save their mother. Vatican spokesman Frederico Lombardi said the pope was monitoring the case.
Ashtiani was found guilty of murder and adultery and condemned to death by stoning in August, prompting an outcry of international criticism. Iranian officials last month said they were suspending the sentence to review the case.