Iran may commute woman's stoning sentence

An Iranian semi-official news agency quotes a judicial official as leaving open the possibility of commuting the sentence of death by stoning against a woman convicted of adultery.

The stoning sentence against Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani has drawn international condemnation and has been suspended for now.

The semi-official Fars news agency reported on Sunday that judicial official Malek Ajdar Sharifi was asked whether the stoning sentence could be commuted and responded: 'Anything is possible.' Sharifi is the head of justice department of East Azerbaijan, the province where Ashtiani is imprisoned.

He said Ashtiani's case took a long time to decide because 'there are some ambiguities in the evidence.'