Thursday, August 12, 2010

A Travesty In Iran

Today the AP reported that the woman facing death for alleged adultery, Sakineh Mohammdi Ashtiani has "confessed" to being "an unwitting accomplice" in her husband's murder.  I'm sure she did confess -- after being tortured, deprived of sleep, tortured some more, left to go hungry and then tortured some more.  This confession is how the Iranian state is going to rationalize her death to the masses.

The thing is that we know that torture is a tool the state uses to get people to say what the state wants them to say -- it doesn't get to the real truth.  It merely gets people to say what the state wants.  The Greeks and Romans used torture, the Spanish Inquisition used torture, Henry the VIII used torture on witnesses, evidence from which was used to execute Anne Boelyn,  the Salem witch trial used torture, and on it goes.

The thing we need to be clear on is this:  if Iran executes Ms. Astiani as it surely plans to do:  We here KNOW she was tortured to get what the Iranian state wanted so they can legitimize executing her.  We know the truth doesn't matter to them.  Even if they don't stone her to death, which may not happen because of world outcry, they will end up killing her by hanging or some other way.  But we still know their only goal is executing yet another human being whom they pervertedly see as being a threat to their regime.  We don't buy their torture purchased version of the truth. 

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