In the week when the Iranian regime forced Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani to goulishly
re-enact the murder of her husband on TV, it is worth reading Newsweek’s interview with Mohammad
Javad Larijani, a regime insider. His answers call to mind Comical Ali, whose delusional denials of the US advance in Iraq made everyone realise how detached from reality Saddam Hussein’s regime
really was.
First on the matter of torture, routinely said by the UN, former prisoners and defectors to be used by Iranian officials: “Torture is forbidden by the Constitution. Any law officer who tortures civilians will meet a very harsh punishment.” Of course, he admits, the Iranian system could “need refinements,” but over-all it is full of checks and balances.
Presumably to underscore the civility of Iran’s legal system, Mr Larijani proceeds to explain, in technical tones, the process of stoning: “Stoning means to throw a limited number of stones with limited intensity to the accused, there is more than a 50 percent chance he can survive.”
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