Actress turned human rights campaigner, Juliette Binoche, has joined the international appeal to halt the stoning to death of Mohammadi Ashtiani, the 43-year-old Iranian mother found guilty of adultery. Ashtiani had already been lashed 99 times and held in prison for five years, after confessing under torture to having affairs with two men.
Beginning with the Cannes film festival in May, where she won the best actress award for her performance in Abbas Kiarostami's Certified Copy, Binoche exploited her global renown to bring attention to the arbitrary and often barbaric justice system of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Her public displays of emotion and demonstrative display at events such as Cannes have done what any number of well-meaning press releases might have failed to achieve: it has grabbed the attention of the world's media.
Kate Allen, Amnesty International UK director, believes Binoche's contribution has made an impact. Her stand on Iran this year, she says, "has definitely added to the international campaign to demand human rights in the country. There's no question that a well-timed intervention from the likes of Juliette Binoche can really give a boost to the work of human rights defenders around the world."
More on this from The Guardian.
