Iran says stoning sentence is lifted

TEHRAN, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- An Iranian woman accused of killing her husband will not be stoned to death, a Parliament member said Monday.

"The stoning verdict of Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani has not been finalized and it is suspended at the moment, but she is sentenced to 10-year jail term," Zohreh Elahian, chairwoman of the Parliament Human Rights Committee, wrote to Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, the Iranian Student News Agency reported.

Elahian said the stoning was dropped because the husband's family has forgiven Mohammadi-Ashtiani.

The lawmaker asserted in her letter, "according to evidence the Iranian woman betrayed her family and killed her husband jointly with her beloved. She has confessed to her crimes during her trial."

Elahian said the Western media's coverage of the case was "psychological warfare" against Iran.

In December, Rousseff, then president-elect, voiced disappointment that Brazil abstained on a U.N. resolution condemning Iran's human rights record.