雅思阅读材料：一位伊朗妇女从石头死刑下死里逃生_雅思英语阅读

雅思阅读材料：一位伊朗妇女从石头死刑下死里逃生

　　We have got news that they are free. We are waiting for another confirmation... then we will be 100 per cent sure.

　　There was no official statement about Ms Ashtiani by authorities in Tehran, and the Foreign Office in London said it was awaiting clarification. But Franco Frattini, the Italian Foreign Minister, said her reported release marked a great day for human rights. Iran has made the gesture of understanding and clemency that we were hoping for, and it did so using its prerogative as a sovereign state, he added.

　　It is a decision that merits strong praise and satisfaction. We take note of this in the knowledge that the prospect for dialogue with Iran also on human rights can resume in a spirit of renewed mutual confidence.

　　There was an international outcry in the summer when Ms Ashtianis sentence became public knowledge. Brazils President, Luiz Incio Lula da Silva, offered to give her asylum in his country, while the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, urged Tehran to respect the fundamental freedoms of its citizens. In Britain, the Foreign Office minister, Alistair Burt, condemned the laws used against her as medieval.

　　Irans conservative Kayhan newspaper reserved its ire for the French First Lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, calling her a prostitute after she attacked the Tehran regime over the sentence.

　　The news of Ms Ashtianis possible reprieve came a day after another Iranian woman, Khadijeh Jahed, also known as Shahla, was hanged at dawn in jail, with her son pushing the stool from beneath her feet. The decision to carry out Ms Jaheds execution, which was also the focus of worldwide outrage, appeared to indicate that the Iranian regime was maintaining a tough stance despite a UN General Assembly committee criticising the countrys serious ongoing human rights violations and pervasive gender inequality and violence against women.