Scarlet Letter

Brazil Offers Asylum to Iranian Woman

Who was sentenced to stoning for adultery.

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the Iranian woman sentenced to die by stoning because she committed adultery, has been offered asylum by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Brazil is an important ally to Iran. Tehran softened its treatment of Ashtiani’s family in response to Brazil’s offer, and the state-controlled press reported the full details of her case for the first time this weekend. Ashtiani was convicted in 2006 of having an illicit relationship with two men and was sentenced to 99 lashes; her conviction was later changed to “adultery while being married,” and to include the death sentence. "If my friendship with the president of Iran and the regard I hold him in is worth something, if this woman is causing discomfort, then we will willingly receive her here,” Lula said at a rally Sunday.