While a recent stoning incident in Takistan, Iran sparked major domestic and international protests, the head of Iran’s judiciary’s human rights committee, Javad Larijani, claimed that stoning is neither torture nor unproportional punishment: “Some think that because Westerners condemn us for stoning, we are ashamed of carrying it out. This is not true. Actually, Shia jurisprudence and the jurisprudence of Ahl-e Beit [descendants of the prophet] is not jurisprudence of shame. This jurisprudence is built upon important foundations, such as the Quran, consensus, reason, and the ways of the Prophet’s descendants.”

The stoning of a man who had left his family in the city of Islamshahr to reside in Takistan for 4.5 years sparked a wave of anger and resentment inside the country. The incident also significantly tarnished Iran’s international image.

Human Rights Watch and other international organizations condemn stoning as a method of punishment. Several prominent international human rights organizations have asked the Iranian judiciary to abandon this form of punishment, which they identify as an instance of torture. But Javad Ardeshir Larijani, an advisor to the judiciary who has made several controversial comments in the past year, responded to these criticisms: “They tell us that we are not supposed to have torture or unproportional punishment because of our commitment to international treaties. We say that we accept both points, but our response is that this [stoning] is neither torture nor unproportional punishment.”

Larijani told ISNA, “Stoning is lower than execution, because in stoning there is a chance for the person to survive, but there is no such chance in execution.” Larijani added, “Their criticism against stoning is based on several factors. They say stoning is not punishment but torture, even though the boundary between punishment and torture is not that clear. On the other hand, they say that this punishment is not proportional to the committed crime. They say why should someone who has committed adultery be punished so harshly? This line of reasoning results from the fact that they do not regard this despicable act to be very serious, and they want to impose that viewpoint on us.”

Larijani also noted, “It is not up to Westerners to determine how despicable adultery is. We determine that based on standards that we have in our country.”

In an open letter to head of Iran’s judiciary, ayatollah Shahroudi, the Stop Stoning Forever Campaign claimed that stoning is an instance of torture. The committee also posed several questions to Shahroudi: “Does Iran, in accordance with its obligations to international treaties, accept that stoning is an instance of torture and must be abolished by all countries? In such circumstances, how do judiciary institutions under your watch allow themselves to violate laws, regulations and memorandums of the judiciary itself, and even attempt to implement this punishment secretly, knowing that they are committing an illegal act?”